-The Hindu The institution can play an important role in refreshing India’s fiscal federalism India’s Constitution-makers thought of India as a union of States with a centripetal bias, done, advisedly, to preserve the unity and integrity of a newly fledged nation. Since then, the Indian economy, polity, demography and society have undergone many changes. The new aspirational India is now firmly on a growth turnpike. It is in this context that we...

-Business Standard Unlikely to rise further as the government allowed imports, release stock held by Nafed Mumbai: With its price shot up sharply in the last few weeks, tur dal has started slipping out of consumers’ plate steadily. Data compiled by the Union Ministry of Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution showed the maximum tur dal prices across the country is at Rs 110 a kg on higher side and average or model...

-The Hindu Deplores public health infrastructure in the country The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday issued notices to the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry (MoHFW), and all States and Union Territories, over what it termed was the “deplorable public health infrastructure in the country”, an NHRC statement said. The NHRC took suo motu cognisance of several media reports on recent deaths across the country due to “deficiencies and inadequacies in...

-The Pioneer New Delhi: Concerned about the water crisis and drought conditions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to Chief Ministers of all States advising them to conserve rainwater during the forthcoming monsoon. The PM had earlier written a personal letter to 'Gram Pradhans'(village chiefs) urging them to conserve rainwater.  The issue of drought conditions and water scarcity was discussed at the highest level at the NITI Aayog's governing council meeting last week....

-Livemint.com Many of the issues with India’s understaffed, overburdened police could stem from the growing criminalization of politics and reluctance for reform A brutal attack on a young doctor in West Bengal, allegedly by relatives of a patient who died on 10 June, triggered country-wide protests by doctors in the country. The incident highlights not just tensions in doctor-patient relationships but also points to a lack of respect for the rule of...