The recent Supreme Court judgment dismissing pharma giant Novartis’ claim for patent protections in India for its award-winning and prohibitively priced anti-leukemia drug Glivec has renewed the focus on accessibly-priced drugs – in particular the failure of the Indian public healthcare system and health policy to ensure affordable drugs for all. Studies show that as much as 70% of health spending in India comes from out-of-pocket payments, with 50-80% of...

-The Hindu     The public transport system is the most effective way of reducing the number of vehicles as well as emissions Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently launched the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP), 2020 with an ambitious goal of shifting to electric propulsion for surface transport. This would reduce our dependence on diesel and petrol and lead to lower emission levels, including carbon-di-oxide emission, which is one of the major contributors...

-Tehelka With 65 percent of the population below the age of 35, India boasts of an unparalleled generational dividend, but are we turning this potential into a disaster? Avalok Langer spots a ticking time bomb Nutrition & Health* 40% of children in India are malnourished 43% of children in the age group of 12-23 months receive full immunisation 48%+ of children are underweight 50%+ of all deaths under age 5 are related to malnutrition 45% of children...

-The Times of India KANNUR: The CITU will next month launch a nationwide campaign, demanding the working hours in private sector companies be slashed to 35 hours from the present 48 hours a week. The campaign is to create more job opportunities. "One of our major discussions at the all-India conference of the CITU that concluded in Kannur on Monday was on the rising number of unemployed youth despite an increase in...

-The Economic Times The government wants to train the rural youth to take up manufacturing jobs, but an official survey has shown that nearly a fifth of youth in the countryside enrolled for vocational training opted to learn driving or become car mechanics in the hope of earning a decent salary in cities. Computer training was the second-most desired skill among the rural youth, shows a report based on the National Sample...