-Agence-France Presse Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has said that the country's public health system had "collapsed" in a blunt assessment of his government's failure to extend a social safety net for the poor. Mr Ramesh, known as a maverick with often outspoken views, stressed that 70 per cent of spending on health was out of people's own pockets, making it the single most important reason for indebtedness in rural areas. "We all...

-The Times of India The government plans to put on auction the circles that went without bids in the just concluded sale of 2G mobile phone spectrum, by March 31, telecom minister Kapil Sibal said on Friday. The "intent" is to have the auction of spectrum in four circles, including Delhi and Mumbai, before the end of the fiscal, Sibal told a news conference. Blaming sensationalism for collapse of the country's telecom growth...

-Outlook A Delhi-based RTI activist today threatened to initiate legal proceedings against Arvind Kejriwal and his associates alleging that one of the NGOs run by them collected funds but did not account them, a charge denied by India Against Corruption. Pranav Arora alleged that Kejriwal was associated with the NGO Kabir, run by India Against Corruption leader Manish Sisodia, and it had got funds from Ford Foundation which they did not show...

-The Times of India CHENNAI: India ranks second globally in accessing private details of its citizens, next only to the US, if the latest data from Google is to be believed. The transparency report by the internet search giant lists out requests it received from governments across the world to access information on the users of its various services. In the first six months of 2012, India made 2,319 requests involving 3,467...

-Outlook Dengue continued to spread in the capital with 38 more people testing positive for the mosquito-borne disease, taking the total number of cases to 1,584 this season. Thirty-seven of the fresh cases were reported from East, South and North Delhi Corporations while one originated from outside the capital. So far, four persons have died in the capital due to dengue. Of the 1,584 cases, 12 cases originated from outside the city. South Delhi...