-The Times of India MUMBAI: Instead of simplifying the process for organ donation, the Centre seems to be imposing more bureaucratic hurdles and adding to the trauma of donors' family members. A draft of fresh national guidelines for organ transplant says forensic departments of government hospitals will play a pivotal role in organ donation. The problem, say experts, is that grieving relatives may have to wait longer-first, for busy, overworked forensic experts...

-The Hindu     The promise of near-universal coverage is now nowhere in sight. And the UPA's seemingly fretful efforts to get the measure through do not appear to be convincing The nation is watching with trepidation the play of politics over the National Food Security Bill, which envisages food security for 67 per cent of the population by providing 5 kg of rice, wheat or coarse cereals per person per month at subsidised...

-The Business Standard Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on the launch of the second phase of the Mukhya Mantri Annapurna Yojana, ahead of the Centre's proposed food security legislation. Edited excerpts of an interview with Sanjay Jog: * What are the key features of the second phase of the Mukhya Mantri Annapurna Yojana (MAY), launched from this month? This will benefit 35 million people, including 5.5 mn below the poverty line...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Marginal farmers in Maharashtra are battling another cruel drought. In Vidarbha, droughts have become an annual feature. Absence of irrigation and efficient watershed management make small farmers even more vulnerable. Although schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana or the Indira Awaas Yojana are not viewed as adaptation policies, many agree they play an important role in making...

-The Business Standard NAC shouldn't have seen growth as the enemy of welfare For the nine years of the United Progressive Alliance government, the National Advisory Council led by Sonia Gandhi and including many well-known people from the corporate and non-governmental organisation world - mostly those with a left-of-centre perspective - has been the focus of much attention. The conventional narrative is that the NAC represented Sonia Gandhi's socialist instincts, and regularly...