-Pratirodh.com Biometric data based 12 digit Unique Identification (UID)-Aadhaar Number linked welfare schemes is being bulldozed with 2014 elections in mind with the ulterior motive of altering voting behavior of the citizens by creating a ‘universal identity infrastructure’ linked to ‘unified payment infrastructure’.   Ahead of next parliamentary elections, with the launch of 21st crore UID-Aadhaar Number and Aadhaar Enabled Service Delivery (AESD) on October 20, 2012 contemptuously ignores Parliament, Parliamentary Committee,...

-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,...

-The Indian Express A series of surrogate advertisements by the gutkha lobby against the ban on it in 14 states in quick succession is now threatening to erupt into a full-scale ad war. The Health Ministry is considering the option of issuing ads of its own to rebut the claims made by gutkha makers. Interestingly, the ministry does not appear to be keen on invoking the anti-tobacco law, which forbids advertising of...

-Live Mint Incidents at Bhopal and Indore highlight irregularities and ethical violations in some trials In 2004, doctors at the Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC), established exclusively for treating the victims of the 1984 gas leak, recruited unsuspecting survivors for clinical trials without their knowledge or consent; 14 participants died during the course of the trials. Together with the episode in Indore’s Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital (that Mint reported on 10...

-Outlook The government today expanded the ambit of Competition Commission of India (CCI), with an amendment to the Competition Act, following which all sectors would fall under the purview of the fair trade regulator. Approving a proposal by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in this regard, the Union Cabinet this evening decided to amend the Competition Act, 2002 with a view to fine tune the regulations to bring it at par with...