-The New Indian Express Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has emerged among the strongest voices against the Food Security Bill, which is being pushed by the UPA government. She recently wrote to the Prime Minister asking him to exempt Tamil Nadu from the implementation of the ordinance that brought the Food Security Bill into force. Apart from the political overtones that such a request might be seen to have,...

-The Hindustan Times Chandigarh: Ecological issues have delayed the start of river-bed mining, an idea propagated by Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal with the aim of extracting enough sand not only to meet the growing demand but also to control its skyrocketing rates in the market. The plan may not be implemented immediately as the proposed quarries would require clearance from the state environment impact assessment authority. Also, environmentalists fear...

-IANS JAIPUR: Helping to identify and then get medical facilities to children suffering from malnutrition will win health workers in Baran district of Rajasthan additional monetary benefits. The district administration of Baran, some 250 km from Jaipur, announced that it would give Rs 100 to a government health worker who helps detect a malnourished child and brings him or her to the special centres of the government meant to deal with the...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party on Tuesday said it would rally political parties for amending the Constitution to annul the twin Supreme Court verdicts that legislators be disqualified automatically on conviction and those in jail be barred from contesting elections. SP general secretary Ramgopal Yadav told TOI, "We will talk to political leaders for Parliament to amend the Constitution so that nobody can stop politicians from contesting elections." While the...

-The Hindu The current market prices are essentially over and above the actual cost of production - a difference that could run from 100 per cent to 5,600 per cent, depending upon various therapeutic categories In a liberalised market economy, do we need price controls on drugs? Policymakers and the pharmaceutical industry do not think so. They believe that price controls are an inefficient tool that distorts resource allocation, squeezes revenue, reduces...