With the malaria situation in Madhya Pradesh reaching a critical level as the death toll increasing consistently every day, the BJP government has been slammed by the Opposition parties for its alleged failure to contain the epidemic-like situation and they have demanded removal of State Health Minister Narottam Mishra. Mr. Mishra had incidentally told media persons last week that he was not fully aware of the situation. While the exact state-wide death...

While Rahul Gandhi spoke of a woman delivering a baby once a week and 52 times a year in Uttar Pradesh according to the official record of the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) on Monday, Youth Congress men in Lucknow were busy preparing an exhibition of glaring cases of corruption in the scheme at their state office.   The exhibition, based on an audit conducted in 12 blocks, is expected to start on...

-Economic and Political Weekly   Mamata Banerjee concurs with P Chidambaram’s counterinsurgency strategy. She revels in rhetoric – Mamata Banerjee’s word of honour was parivartan (change). A large section of the people of West Bengal desperately wanted change, so parivartan brought her to the helm at Writers’ Building, with its Corinthian facade carrying over from the heyday of the East India Company, now, of course, the office and secretariat of the chief minister...

At BANCON (annual bankers' conference) 2011 in Chennai, financial institutions explored avenues for greater participation in agriculture and rural development. There are a few areas in need of additional attention and investment. Green Revolution technologies are scale-neutral but not resource-neutral. Inputs are needed for output; therefore market-purchased inputs become important in providing soil and plant healthcare for higher yields. Social scientists point out that small and marginal farmers will be excluded...

-The Hindu   High spending on medicines and health will push many Indians below the poverty line, the World Health Organisation has cautioned. “Due to the out-of-pocket spending of their income on medicines and healthcare services, about 3.2 per cent of India's population will come below the poverty line,” a senior WHO official said at a meet organised by the Delhi Society for Promotion of Rational Use of Drugs (DSPRUD) and WHO on...