-Economic and Political Weekly The key to improving the quality of healthcare services in India and reducing costs at the same time can be found by enacting legislation which lays down minimum standards of patient care. In the absence of such standards and the reluctance of health insurance companies to standardise either price or quality, healthcare services continue to be expensive and of doubtful quality. Developing standards of patient care by...

-The Hindu MHA says it will not compromise on national interest After taking action against the international Environment group Greenpeace, the government has clamped down on four American NGOs working in the same field - Avaaz, Bank Information Centre (BIC), Sierra Club and 350.org. Over the past month, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to stop all foreign funding into the accounts of these NGOs...

-The Indian Express The first nine months of the new BJP government has only underscored its anti-poor, anti-rural image. The substantive and substantial changes in rural development have been restrictive in nature. The new government has worked to undermine the legal and financial framework of MGNREGA, substantially weakened the provisions of the land acquisition act through an ordinance and, through year-end budget cuts, they have undermined almost every social sector programme, reportedly...

-The Hindu Nammalvar remembered on his first death anniversary Salem (Tamil Nadu): To encourage people undertake organic farming and to produce vegetables on their own, three types of vegetable seeds and two types of spinach seeds were distributed free of cost to the public here on Tuesday. As part of observing the first death anniversary of organic farming scientist G. Nammalvar, ‘Seed Day' was celebrated here. Members of Green City Association and Easan...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government may introduce a health cess to fund free health care services and launch seven preventive campaigns to curb illnesses under a draft health policy unveiled today. Some analysts, however, said the draft of the National Health Policy 2015 lacked emphasis on regulating India's private health industry, necessary to curb the high cost of health care. The draft says the government has the "political will" to...