“Only one third of the journey has been completed” The last case of wild polio virus reported in India was exactly one year ago, on January 13, when stool samples showed that 18-month-old Rukhsar Khatoon in West Bengal had polio. She has since recovered, but it is the progress of whittling down from the largest number of cases in the world to zero that is fascinating to public health experts globally. Clearly,...

Agrarian distress and growing awareness among farmers, tired of poll-time rhetoric and freebies, may make it tougher for political parties to woo this large electorate with worn-out promises in the upcoming assembly polls.  Ahead of elections in five states, including in Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous and politically-critical state, many farmers say they are ready to pay market rates for power and other inputs provided there is reliable supply.  Swarn Singh,...

-The Hindu   In the backdrop of the ongoing agitation against nuclear power at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu and several other areas of the country, the Union Cabinet's Committee on Security has reiterated that the safety of nuclear power plants is “a matter of the highest priority” for the government. The panel, which reviewed the safety of nuclear power plants at a meeting here on Thursday, said the government had decided to invite...

-The Telegraph Assam has managed to secure an exclusive meeting with the Planning Commission wherein it would make a strong case for a state-specific development strategy. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi revealed this here today during an interaction with reporters. He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured him of arranging a full-fledged meeting with the plan panel during his meeting with the former in Delhi early this week. According to a senior official of...

Wajahat Habibullah, chairperson, National Commission for Minorities, speaks to Kavita Chowdhury on reservation for Muslims, the RTI Act and the controversy over withdrawal of AFSPA in Kashmir. You had recently visited Rajasthan. In Bharatpur district’s Gopalgarh village, some members of the minority community, Mev Muslims, were killed and the state administration was accused of mishandling the matter. What is your view? A communal riot is an unpardonable crime. The state government has taken...