-Hindustan Times Contractual in nature, the lateral entry of experts should not alarm civil services unions. At the same time, it must be ensured that the policy is not misused for political purposes. The government’s decision to recruit 10 senior bureaucrats through lateral entry is, in principle, a bold and long-overdue step. The Indian state apparatus suffers from three key deficiencies. Contrary to the widespread impression that it is bloated, the government...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Indian Psychiatric Society has launched its first-ever campaign to assert that homosexuality is not an illness amid concerns that sections of the public and physicians continue to mistakenly believe it can be treated. Senior members of the IPS plan to address conferences open to the public and use social media platforms to argue that homosexuality and lesbianism are just variations in sexual orientation and provide science-driven guidance...

-The Hindu The social activist whose new book on the RTI is just out, worries about the doublespeak in politics today, where rhetoric and substance never match The past couple of months have been hectic for Aruna Roy. The social activist and Magsaysay Award winner has been travelling across the country to promote her book, The RTI Story: Power to the People, which came out in April. After waiting more than a...

-The Indian Express The son said that after his father's death in 2010, the little produce from a small farm with the family lasted barely two-to-three months. Officials are also probing as to why the woman, or any other member of her family, was reportedly not getting any other government benefits. Ranchi: A 58-year-old woman allegedly died of starvation at a village under Dumri Block of Giridih district in Jharkhand. District officials...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Some major private hospitals like Fortis, Apollo, Medanta and Narayana Health have expressed concern over the government’s ambitious ‘Ayushman Bharat’ fixing prices of some critical procedures, saying the rates are not viable for them. Senior Executives from some private hospitals met officials of Niti Aayog and health ministry on Friday over this issue following representations by various industry forums, sources said. “It appears that, overall, no...