It will wait for the findings of its own study before reaching final conclusion ICMR argues that findings can't be extrapolated on Indian population A study by Jawaharlal Nehru University has found impact on male fertility A day after the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned of the possibility of mobile phone handsets causing cancer, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Thursday that there was “no reason to panic” as a...

To protect the interests of students seeking admission, the Centre is planning a law to check unfair practices in schools, ranging from donations and nexus with coaching centres. The proposed “The Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Schools and Intermediate Colleges Bill, 2011” aims at promoting transparency through mandatory self-disclosure in the prospectus and on the website, and provide adequate and accessible recourse for remedial action arising out of non-adherence to self-disclosed...

Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra chairperson Avdhash Kaushal lashed out at the government on Wednesday for flawed policies that had retarded the development process in Uttarakhand in the name of environment conservation and made life miserable for both humans and wildlife. “There is an urgent need to change the Forest Conservation Act and Wild Life Protection Act which are colonial in nature and are also creating problems for people of Uttarakhand,”...

Cash transfers are now suggested by many as a silver bullet for addressing the problems that plague India’s anti-poverty programmes. This article argues instead for evidence-based policy and informed public debate to clarify the place, prospects and problems of cash transfers in India. By drawing on key empirical findings from academic and grey literature across the world an attempt is made to draw attention to three aspects of cash transfers...

If it took six decades for the Central government to honour the constitutional commitment to provide free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of 05-14 by putting in place the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2010, the State governments, barring a few, have failed to complete the necessary spadework even a year after the law was enacted. The spadework related to...