-The United Nations   The United Nations today welcomed the results of studies that show that taking a tablet of an antiretroviral drug daily can reduce the risk of acquiring HIV by up to 73 per cent in people not infected by the virus that causes AidS. The findings of the studies carried out in Kenya, Uganda and Botswana, showed that daily use of both tenofovir and tenofovir/emtricitabine antiretrovirals, taken as preventive...

-The Economic Times   NEW DELHI: Signalling clearly that the rural develpment ministry, virtually somnolent under minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, was set to go ballistic politically, minister Jairam Ramesh who took charge here on Wednesday spelt out deadlines for the three most important issues including the land acquisition bill, poverty count and stringent monitoring of UPA II's flagship programme the MGNREGA. Jairam, who earned a lot of attention in his earlier charge,...

-The Telegraph   Calcutta July 13: The state government has made BEd compulsory for teachers of secondary and higher-secondary schools but offered a two-year window from the day of joining to new recruits without the degree. The announcement was made today in accordance with the provisions of the Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, and will come into effect from this year. Although the government will allow those without BEd...

In Uttar Pradesh's most impoverished region, Bundelkhand, government officials feed off not just the living but also the dead. Headlines Today has exposed how corrupt officials exploit the grieving families of farmers, who have committed suicide.   In a visit to Bundelkhand in 2008, AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi repeated a phrase borrowed from his father Rajiv Gandhi: "Out of 100 paise, only 15 paise reaches the poor".   While travelling through this dustbowl...

The challenge is to acknowledge the inappropriateness of the current health education and delivery systems, and refashion health care delivery relevant for the country. The confluence of recent events is an opportunity to rethink health systems. The new Medical Council of India, the proposed Human Resources in Health Bill, the penultimate year of the National Rural Health Mission, preparations for the 12th Five Year Plan and the promise of a significant...