-PTI Indian women cannot act as surrogate mothers for more than three births, including those of their own children, a draft bill to regulate the country's burgeoning wombs-for-rent industry has proposed. The Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) bill also proposes that surrogate mothers should have a mandatory two-year interval between deliveries, whether of surrogate babies or their own children. After the health ministry receives comments on the draft from other key ministries, the bill...

-The United Nations United Nations officials marked World Population Day today by spotlighting the issue of adolescent pregnancy, and calling on Governments to take measures to enable girls to make responsible life choices and realize their potential. About 16 million girls under age 18 give birth each year, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which noted that another 3.2 million undergo unsafe abortions. The vast majority - 90 per cent - of...

-The Hindu There is reason to be optimistic about the U.N. report on disability rights, but there is also disappointment at its failure to make the poverty connection The disability movement has waited anxiously for the report of the high level panel on post-2015, formed by the Secretary General of the United Nations, which was released in May. This document is expected to set the tone for the Secretary General's report on...

-The Hindustan Times The recent release of The Lancet's special edition on Maternal and Child Nutrition in Delhi provided an occasion to debate the relevance of its recommendations for India. The discourse was enlivened by a statement, released ahead of the event by several Indian health experts, challenging the content and intent of some of the suggested interventions. Three authors of The Lancet series and many of the critics who issued that statement...

-The Times of India AURANGABAD/ PUNE: An 11-month-old boy from Maharashtra's Beed district has been found infected with the vaccine derived polio virus (VDPV). This is the first such case in the state and the third in the country since March 2012. Health officials said the boy's stool sample tested positive for VDPV on June 1. "The child has been ill for prolonged periods, indicating the possibility of immunodeficiency," an official said. The...