It was quite a role reversal. Moments after my photojournalist colleague Sayantoni and I introduced ourselves to the chief medical officer of Jhajjar district in Haryana, he did what we as journalists normally do. Reel off a barrage of questions. The first question was new (not what one generally faces while covering renewable energy policy in Delhi), “Bhai-behen kitne hain? (How many sisters/brothers you have?)” and my quick answer was “koi...

United States has placed India, Pakistan, China and nine other countries on the top 'priority watch list' with regard to violations of intellectual property rights (IPR). America's trading partners on the Priority Watch List present the most significant concerns regarding insufficient IPR protection or enforcement, or otherwise limited market access for persons relying on intellectual property protection. Twelve countries-India, Pakistan, China, Russia, Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Indonesia, Israel, Thailand and Venezuela are...

Patriarchal societies are part of the problem of altered sex ratios, female infanticide and foeticide. This needs to be acknowledged and changed. India's sex ratio, among children aged 0-6 years, is alarming. The ratio has declined from 976 females (for every 1000 males) in 1961 to 914 in 2011. Every national census has documented a decline in the ratio, signalling a ubiquitous trend. Preliminary data from the 2011 census have recorded...

Mayawati has brought rural health mission under Chief Secretary's control Visits slain CMO's house; killing was linked to alleged financial bungling under NRHM Rita Bahuguna files RTI plea on mis-utilisation of Central funds under NRHM A day after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati brought the implementation of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) directly under the administrative control of the Chief Secretary, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi sent a strong political message when...

In comments that could fuel a fresh controversy over the black money issue, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Tuesday said there are Indian names in the Swiss bank data list that are going to be made public. “Yes, there are Indian names in the data that we have already published or are going to publish. I can't remember specifically whether there are Indian names in the coming publication. But I have...