The virus that causes Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is slow moving and will not spread across the country as fast as the H1N1 swine flu virus, experts have said. However, the mortality rate among those affected by Congo virus will be far more than H1N1. In an exclusive interview to TOI, Dr A C Mishra, director of the National Institute of Virology, Pune, said different viruses have different characteristics. Influenza viruses...

Even though the Central Government agreed to link the wages paid under MG-NREGA to the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPIAL), it shied away from paying statutory minimum wages in various states of India. Their logic for this: Lack of clarity on who will bear the extra financial burden—the Centre or the states? A letter from the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to UPA and NAC Chairperson Sonia Gandhi dated 31...

Expressing concern about the food security of poor people in poverty-stricken KBK (Kalahandi-Balangir-Koraput) region, National Human Rights Commission today directed the Orissa government to present status of its recommendation on implementation of welfare schemes in the area. "The state government has been directed to depute an officer to be present before the commission on March 21, 2011 giving status on the implementation of recommendations of the commission," NHRC Chairperson Justice K...

When we hear the word innovation, we often think of new technologies or silver bullet solutions — like hydrogen fuel cells or a cure for cancer. To be sure, breakthroughs are vital: antibiotics and vaccines, for example, transformed global health. But as we’ve argued in Fixes, some of the greatest advances come from taking old ideas or technologies and making them accessible to millions of people who are underserved. One area...

Concerned over the plight of poor Scheduled Caste women and children, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) will take stock of its schemes and their implementation at a two-day meeting beginning here on Tuesday. As a nodal ministry, the WCD will review the outcome of these schemes and gaps in implementation. “It has been seen that targeted schemes do not reach the poor population, thereby excluding 70-75 per cent...