-The Hindu     While it is apparent that due process has been subverted to the advantage of a few by the political executive, it is equally true that there has been some politicisation of the civil service Two recent events have focussed attention on the relationship between the political executive and public servants. At the international conference on corruption organised by the Central Bureau of Investigation on November 11, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh...

-The Hindu Unless a deeper, institutional change is ushered in to break the nexus between drug companies and the regulatory regime, Indians consuming drugs may be exposing themselves to serious risks Even before I walked into the Mayflower Hotel in the heart of Washington on a crisp autumn afternoon to meet Dinesh Thakur, whistle-blower and former director of India-based pharmaceutical giant Ranbaxy, I had a hunch that this conversation would spark some...

-PTI DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand chief minister Vijay Bahuguna on Friday said several measures are in the offing to give a boost to medical facilities in the state including construction of seven trauma centres and one mobile ambulance in each district. "A 50-bed trauma centre each will be set up in Guptkashi, Gauchar, Joshimath, Jauljeevi, Kapkot, Bageshwar and Uttarkashi," he said. All the 13 districts in the state will have a mobile medical ambulance equipped...

-Economic and Political Weekly Part-II Reports the impact of in-kind food transfers on nutritional intake as measured by calories. Econometric analysis using a simple calorie demand function confirms the significance of variables relating to public distribution system access, controlling for other covariates, in its contribution to calorie intake. Results also suggest that the calorie-elasticity of PDS transfers is twice as large compared to additional out-of-pocket income equal to the cash equivalent...

-IANS Believe it or not, salt was selling at an exorbitant Rs150 per kg in parts of Bihar amid rumours of an acute shortage of the essential ingredient of food. The state government rebutted the rumours on Thursday. There is no truth in Reports that the state is facing shortage of common salt, Bihar's Food and Civil Supply Minister Shyam Razak told media persons in Patna. "It is purely a rumour, nothing else....