Health is a state of mental, social and physical well-being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity. To achieve this noble objective, India requires health care professionals who are trained in institutions with standardised infrastructure, and the availability of accessible and equitable health care for both the rural and urban populace. Recently, the health sector has been in the news — from the creation of a rural based...

To control inflation and ensure long-term economic growth, India needs to harness the creativity of the large number of its farmers and entrepreneurs, especially in rural areas. The latest WPI inflation data show primary articles inflation in double digit, driven mainly by food inflation which remains stubbornly high at over 9 per cent. The high food prices are the result of structural factors with shortages getting aggravated as demand continues to outstrip...

-PTI   When it comes to companies bribing public officials when doing business overseas, India's score has improved the most in a global index, rights group Transparency International said on Wednesday.  Nevertheless, India still ranks near the bottom of the global Bribe Payers Index, as there was a high likelihood of Indian companies paying bribes abroad.  In a list of 28 countries, India has been ranked 19th, while China and Russia fared the worst,...

-The Telegraph   Calcutta is among six cities worldwide at “extreme risk” of facing natural hazards of climate change, including the impacts of sea level rise, but with a poor capacity to respond, says a report released today. The report on climate change vulnerability from Maplecroft, a private UK-based risk analysis company, also predicts that Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi are among 10 cities across the world that face a “high risk” of the...

-The United Nations   Global malaria deaths have dropped by about 38 per cent over the past decade, saving the lives of more than one million people, mostly children, through the efforts of a United Nations-led global partnership that put emphasis on prevention and treatment, particularly the use of insecticide-treated nets, according to a report unveiled today. Some 43 countries, 11 of them in Africa, have seen malaria cases or deaths drop by...