-The Hindu Dehradun: "I am the only one left in the family now," says Vasundhara Devi, 32, whose husband and two sons are among those who have gone missing in the Kedarnath floods in June and are now ‘presumed dead'. Poonam Tewari, whose husband Suresh owned a restaurant in Kedarnath, says, "I only have a three-year-old daughter for a family now. I need money to educate her." Sarita Bagwadi's father and two...

-Frontline The National Advisory Council recommendations seem to be making a strong case for a major role for the private sector in the delivery of health care. THE recommendations for universal health coverage drawn up by the National Advisory Council (NAC), headed by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, push for public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the health delivery system but not for any inbuilt mechanisms for accountability. The NAC also...

-The Indian Express Pandharpur: Jaya Waghela, 52, spends more than an hour cleaning herself every morning. But the soap and water cannot wash off the stench of human faeces she cleans everyday with her broom at 600-odd public toilets along the banks of the river Bhima in Pandharpur district of Maharashtra. "The stench is so overbearing that it has killed my appetite," says Waghela, who has stayed away from her kitchen since...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Within a fortnight, you may be able to pick up a cooking gas refill from petrol pumps owned and operated by state-run oil companies in the four metros and big cities such as Bangalore and Hyderabad. Oil minister M Veerappa Moily on Tuesday approved the proposal allowing sale of 5-kg cylinders at commercial rate. The cost of the small refill will be Rs 361, oil company...

-Down to Earth Is India ready to protect itself from the onslaught of food and nutrition industry? India is shouldering a huge burden of malnutrition-in the absence of government figures, a dipstick survey by non-profit HUNGaMA in 2012 suggests that 59 per cent of the country's children could have stunted growth and 42 per cent could be underweight. While the government is still struggling to tackle the problem, the food and nutrition...