-The Times of India   State government finally seems to be taking the issue of lack of trained staff in public health sector seriously. Doctors posted in rural areas, sub-district hospitals and district hospitals will now be in specialties like paediatrics, emergency services like trauma, and gynaecology at the government medical colleges (GMCs) under specialists. The plan has support of directorate of medical education ( DMER). Public health department had been working...

-The Hindu In order to reduce mother mortality rate (MMR) and infant mortality rate (IMR), the district administration had launched ‘Amma Lalana' (Mother's Nurture) programme of providing better medicare to pregnant women and new born by tracking them for intervention needed through SMS alerts. Initially, the programme was launched in 25 primary health centres by feeding the information of the pregnant women along with her cellular phone number or husband's phone and...

-The Times of India   The Supreme Court on Friday ordered an investigation into whether the benefits of government's welfare programmes like NREGA were reaching the intended beneficiaries and to fix accountability for ensuring that they do, in what is going to be a gigantic exercise. A bench of Justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya appointed senior advocate Indu Malhotra as amicus curiae and asked her to study the details...

Up to three-fourths of villagers and half of city dwellers will be entitled to subsidised food grains under a new bill, with the Centre refusing to budge on the volume of grain entitlement and continuing with upper limits for beneficiaries. The National Food Security Bill, redrafted on the basis of feedback from states and civil society groups, will soon be sent to the cabinet so that it can be introduced in...

Thirty-four-year-old Praseetha Dineshan from Kattipara panchayat in Kozhikode used to work as a postwoman delivering letters from 8 am to 5.30 pm. No longer.  After completing a training course of Coconut Development Board (CDB) for climbing coconut tree using a machine, she has now quit her temporary job and is happy to climb coconut trees to pluck coconuts. "Yesterday I climbed 15 trees and today I did 20. More and more people...