-Outlook Aiming to humanise the treatment of mental illnesses, government has drafted a new Bill which proposes to give patients the right to choose in advance the kind of treatment and recommends use of electric shocks in rare cases. In the new draft law for mental sickness, government also proposes to ban electro convulsive treatment (ECT) (electric shocks) for minors as also its use directly in adults and recommended its use only...

-The Economic Times A new book by Bibek Debroy on Gujarat looks at how this much-talked about state has performed in economic terms. The author argues history, luck and administrative clarity have been the determining factors. There has been a discernible pickup in Gujarat's growth performance since the 10th Plan (2002-07), the five-year Plans being natural periods for breaking up the timeline. It's tempting to argue that there is nothing exceptional in...

-The Hindustan Times The industries opened up to foreign investment in the past 20 days produce less than a tenth of India's national income. On the face of it, this number is too small to justify the opposition to foreign direct investment (FDI) in supermarkets, airlines, insurance and pensions. Or the government's resolve to open these businesses to foreigners with or without majority control. The picture changes when you see how fast...

-Outlook Indian MPs would soon float a forum to advocate elimination of stigma and discrimination against persons affected by leprosy. "Next parliament session, we will float a forum to end leprosy and advocate the rights of persons affected by the disease," Trinamool Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi said at an international symposium on leprosy and human rights in Asia. Also supporting the cause were Minister of State for Human Resource Development and Lok Sabha...

-The Hindu The Supreme Court’s unyielding criticism of the government for not eradicating the practice of manual scavenging was the springboard for the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to introduce the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012 in the Lok Sabha on September 3. Welcomed as a panacea for the historically iniquitous, caste-ordained practice of manually handling human waste, the new Bill indicates renewed commitment...