Lancet dismisses criticisms levelled at the “rural MBBS,” saying they bear little credibility The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry might still be awaiting “formal” clearance for its much debated Bachelor of Rural Health Care course that aims to create a cadre of healthcare workers for the rural areas, but the Centre has received global appreciation for “trying to find an innovative solution to a deeply entrenched problem which is not...

The report of the Javid Chowdhury Committee facilitated the resumption, in February 2010, of vaccine production in the three pubLIC sector units, one in Himachal Pradesh and the other two in Tamil Nadu. Javid Chowdhury, a former Health Secretary of the Government of India, recommended that the suspension of their LICenses for manufacturing vaccines in 2008 should be revoked in the pubLIC interest and on the strength of the compliance...

The Andhra Pradesh Microfinance Institutions (Regulation of Money Lending) Ordinance, 2010, suggests there’s more politics than understanding of economics that went into it. The setting up of district registering authority under the ordinance, with elaborate powers to even cancel LICences, will increase risks of operations posing serious hazard to business plans and will jeopardise the whole MFI network. Especially stifling is the requirement that MFIs have to submit a monthly...

One billion people in the world were undernourished in 2009, according to a new report. The 2010 Global Hunger Index shows that child malnutrition is the biggest cause of hunger worldwide, accounting for almost half of those affected. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia were shown to have the highest levels of hunger. The report's authors called on nations to tackle child malnutrition in order to reduce global hunger. The Global Hunger Index...

The Aadhaar or UID project has grave impLICations for every Indian. It will enable the government to profile every citizen and track their movements and transactions. There is no guarantee that intimate personal information -- pre-existing illnesses, romantic relationships etc -- won't be shared with other agencies, warns Praful Bidwai. An elaborate charade has begun with the rolling out of the first Aadhaar unique identity numbers in a tribal district of Maharashtra by...