-The Hindu The new Bill should pitch for free care to mental health patients in public hospitals. Persons with mental illness have long been subjected to cruelty, neglect, ridicule and stigma. In the last half-century, medical science has made significant strides in finding some cures and palliatives for afflictions of the mind – of emotion, mood, thinking and behaviour. Parallel to this is the evolution in our ethical frameworks: of human rights,...

-Firstpost.com The floodgates seem to have opened when it comes to news reporting on Robert Vadra and his real estate dealings. DNA today reported that “In a flurry of deals between June 2009 and August 2011, Robert Vadra purchased at least 20 plots of land collectively measuring more than 770 hectares in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district, in a region that would see prices spiraling soon after.” According to the newspaper, “A clutch of...

-The Times of India Come July and you will have cash equivalent to your cooking gas subsidy in your bank account, marking the biggest shift in delivery of handouts which could help government curb leakages and reduce the strain on public finances. The switch is part of the ambitious three-phase deadline set by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make the "kind-to-cash" transition based on the Aadhaar numbers. At a meeting chaired by Pulok...

-Outlook Taking exception to Calcutta High Court's order refusing to give notice to Mamata Banerjee on appointment of Dr Sukumar Mukherjee as chief health advisor to the state government, the Supreme Court today issued notice to the West Bengal Chief Minister. A bench of justices R M Lodha and A R Dave issued notice to Banerjee seeking her reply on why she should not be made party in the case challenging the...

-The Indian Express Recently, the prime minister raised concerns about RTI applications encroaching on the right to privacy. At this juncture, it may be worth remembering the case of “Auto Shankar” and his diary. About 20 years ago, an auto driver called Gauri Shankar, who had murdered more than six teenage girls, was convicted and sentenced to death. Before the appeals process was exhausted, he started writing a diary, which was...