-The Hindu The very foundation of Aadhaar must be reconsidered in the light of the privacy judgment Predictably enough, the recent Supreme Court order affirming that privacy is a fundamental right sent Aadhaar’s public-relations machine into damage control mode. After denying the right to privacy for years, the government promptly changed gear and welcomed the judgment. Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), suddenly asserted, “The Aadhaar...

-Livemint.com A 2014 NSSO report shows that the majority of Indians prefer to consult private practitioners rather than public hospitals and those who do visit public hospitals often do so out of compulsion First it was Gorakhpur. Now it is Farrukhabad. The death toll in Uttar Pradesh’s government hospitals—from what appear to be preventable causes—has been mounting over the past month. Similar incidents have been reported from other states, pointing to the...

-The Hindu Doctors in hospital where 30 babies died in a month likely to get clean chit. FARUKKHABAD (U.P.): Shaheen lives in a cramped, two-room tenement in the congested Khatakpura Izzat Khan lane in urban Farukkhabad. Her husband Dishad sells embroidery scraps for a living. They have three daughters, aged 15, 10 and 6. In the dimly-lit room, Shaheen waits for Dilshad to return. Short on money, life is tough for the family....

-TheWire.in Demonetisation as a means of tackling the black economy was destined to fail. What’s worse is that its ripple effects are having severe adverse effects on India’s economy. That 99% of the currency demonetised found its way back to the RBI has been known for some time. The surprise is why it took so long for the announcement to be made. An article in the Economic and Political Weekly in June...

-PTI London: Leading UK retail chains such as John Lewis and Habitat have withdrawn granite products from their range over fears of child labour and slavery within its Indian supply chains. Businesses selling granite products such as kitchen worktops and tiles are scrutinising the source of their products after global investigators discovered that debt bondage, underage workers and unsafe, unhealthy working conditions are part and parcel of daily working life in Indian...