-The Telegraph There is no mention of compliance with ‘good manufacturing practices’ or the need to make inspection reports public, leaving the process of regulation vague and dependent on whims of drug inspectors This month, the Union ministry of health published the draft new drugs, medical devices and cosmetics bill to replace the antiquated Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. Yet, most of the draft bill appears to be a copy of the...

-The Hindu Dehumanisation is the likely outcome when humane aspects of governance get outsourced to technologies The right to live with dignity is a constitutional imperative. However, it rarely manifests in discussions surrounding digital initiatives in governance. Centralised data dashboards — valuable as they are — have become the go-to mode for assessing policies, relegating principles such as human dignity and hardships in accessing rights to its blind spots. Often when technological...

-TheWire.in There is little doubt that the practice of handing out freebies undermines both democracy and development. But the problem doesn't lie just with the opposition. Constitutional authorities in India have recently spoken about key challenges the country is facing. The Chief Justice of India (CJI) has said that there is “diminishing” space for the opposition, that there was no longer any mutual respect between the Union Government and the opposition, and that...

-Down to Earth The Union Government's claim about being on track to double farmers' income sounds hollow as it has not even spent the allocated budget for agrarian schemes in three of the past five years  On February 28, 2016 Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to double farmers’ income by 2022-23—his gift to the country in its 75th year of independence. In the six years since then, the Union Government has not...

-Hindustan Times The World Population Prospects 2022 recently highlighted that India’s Total fertility Rate had come down from 5.9 children per woman in 1950 to 2.2 children per woman in 2020, just shy of 2.1 replacement level fertility. BJP MP Ravi Kishan will introduce private members' bill on population control today, days after Union minister Bharati Pravin Pawar told the Rajya Sabha that the government is not contemplating any legislative measures for...