-The Hindu The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines of April 1998 say epidemiological studies on workers exposed to Electric and Magnetic Field (EMF) and the public have shown no major health effects associated with typical exposure environments. The studies have yielded no convincing evidence that typical exposure levels lead to adverse reproductive outcomes or an increased cancer risk. In India, the GSM services are being operated in 900 MHz and...

-The Times of India With the political logjam stalling key legislative business, civil rights activists feel that Parliament should be allowed to function to ensure that the government is held accountable. MKSS head and RTI activist Aruna Roy said that while the issue of corruption was important, Parliament should be allowed to run. "Corruption is a huge issue but there are other laws which will protect people's lives and cub corruption. Political...

-Frontline Health activists say the health chapter of the Twelfth Plan document exaggerates the role of the private sector in providing health care. The draft chapter on health for the Twelfth Five Year Plan document not only is grossly inadequate in its approach but exaggerates to unrealistic levels the role of the private sector in providing health care. It invokes the concept of universal health care (UHC), but, critics say, it...

-The Hindu Stereotypical government policies and global approaches persist in family planning programmes. Urmila is a 40-year-old domestic worker in western Uttar Pradesh. The mother of six children, all girls, she is now pregnant again and is keen on carrying on with the pregnancy. Her husband is unemployed and is an alcoholic. His relatives have assured her that they will help her to bring up the child and have also hinted...

-The Telegraph In a primary health centre in eastern Jharkhand, the angry shouts of a nurse punctuated the occasional wails of a woman in her early-20s who was in labour pain and only minutes away from delivering her baby. Each time a uterine contraction evoked a yell or a wail or the woman sought a more comfortable position during labour, the nurse or other health workers admonished her, asking her to shut...