-The Times of India Over-the-counter sale of around 92 antibiotic and anti-tuberculosis drugs in India will be restricted soon. Drug Controller General of India G N Singh has written to the Union health minister to notify a new schedule, H1, in the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules. Once notified, following clearance from the law ministry, these drugs cannot be sold without prescription. The drugs will also have to carry a prominent label in red...

-The Hindu Justice has been delivered finally to a 14-year-old gang-rape victim from a village in Bijnore district of Uttar Pradesh, denied admission at a local school. The district administration ordered suspension of the headmaster and a Class IV employee, one of the four accused in the case who had even served a jail term but was allowed to resume his duties after his release. Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Raj Bhanu Pratap...

-PTI New radiation norms for telecom towers come into force from tomorrow, allowing only a tenth of the emission permitted by the existing guidelines. The move is a precautionary one aimed at addressing public health concerns, although a government-appointed expert panel has found no direct link between health and exposure to the electromagnetic frequency radiation from mobile towers. The bulk of the expected fall in emission levels has already been achieved, since 95...

-PTI The Centre has sought details from the Maharashtra government about reasons for cancelling the licence of private seed firm Mahyco to sell Bt cotton seeds in the state. The Union Agriculture Ministry has also asked Mahyco to submit its views, a senior government official said. On August 8, the state government had issued an order cancelling the licence of Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco) to sell Bt cotton seeds with immediate effect,...

-The Hindu The response to my article by Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister for Rural Development, and his colleagues is a welcome move towards a public debate which we have suggested, time and again, should be held in every State with all people’s organisations. I would like to briefly reply to some points in the Minister’s response: His argument that land is finite cannot be used to justify forcible acquisition. The Bill...