With institutional healthcare being prohibitively expensive, more women in rural India are choosing to deliver at home than in hospitals and healthcare facilities, says a new report brought out by Chittorgarh-based NGO, Prayas, in partnership with Oxfam India. The 'Study of the trends in out-of-pocket payments in healthcare during National Rural Health Mission period (2005-2010)', released on October 12 in the national capital, was conducted across five Indian states - Assam,...

Economic status, education, access to clean water and sanitation, nutrition and the environment determine the level of health of persons, communities or countries, and so does the extent to which rights are enjoyed or denied. The World Conference on Social Determinants of Health, held Oct. 19-21 in Brazil, defined 15 commitments that should be undertaken by governments, international organisations, the Private Sector and civil society.  The final document, the Rio Political Declaration...

India recorded 98,621 rotavirus-inducted diarrhoea deaths in 2008, which is about 22% of global toll from the infection.  Nigeria - the second worst-hit country - recorded about 41,000 deaths, or less than 50% of fatalities as compared to India.  Pakistan (39,000) and Bangladesh (9,000) figures among the top 10 worst-affected nations grappling with rotavirus infection, says a study that appeared in medical journal, "The Lancet Infectious Diseases". It shows 453,000 deaths occurred...

-The Hindu   “Allowing oil firms to control market will hurt economy”   De-regulation by which the three public sector oil companies are empowered to set the price of petrol and other petroleum products has been challenged in a public interest litigation petition in the Supreme Court. The All India Youth Federation (AIYF), represented by its general secretary P. Sandoshkumar, said there was no rationale behind replacing the Administered Pricing Mechanism (APM) with the Import...

Prime Minister​ Manmohan Singh said that the government plans to strengthen anti-graft laws in India by making bribery in the Private Sector a criminal offence. “We are considering changes in our laws to criminalize Private Sector bribery,” Singh said, while speaking at the Biennial Conference of CBI and state anti-corruption bureaux on Friday. Singh also indicated that the Central Bureau of Investigation​ (CBI) will continue as the premier investigative agency even after...