-Economic and Political Weekly The key to improving the quality of healthcare services in India and reducing costs at the same time can be found by enacting legislation which lays down minimum standards of patient care. In the absence of such standards and the reluctance of health insurance companies to standardise either price or quality, healthcare services continue to be expensive and of doubtful quality. Developing standards of patient care by...

-Economic and Political Weekly India's scheduled tribes are among the most deprived socio-economic groups and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme has great potential in tribal areas. While the Andhra Pradesh government has made an effort to ensure implementation of the scheme in the scheduled areas, the gap between administrative orders and the grass-roots level is wide. This article lists measures that could radically improve implementation of the scheme...

-The Indian Express The Centre on Monday admitted for the first time that hydropower projects had "direct and indirect impact in the aggravation of floods" that hit Uttarakhand in 2013, killing hundreds and leaving thousands homeless. It also said that the projects caused "irreversible damage" to the environment and enhanced landslides and other disasters. Filing its affidavit in the Supreme Court on Monday, the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) conceded that "the...

-The Hindu Irrespective of fuel costs, investing in a robust public transport system alone can save the day Whenever news about a fall in oil prices hits the headline, the first to cheer are car users. "I can save up to Rs. 2,700 every month now. That means I can put this money to better use elsewhere," a journalist-friend recently said with a sigh of relief when asked to respond to the...

-Down to Earth Chhattisgarh's much appreciated public distribution scheme is falling apart due to corruption and mismanagement As chhattisgarh prepares for panchayat election at the end of the year, the fate of ration card holders in the state is in limbo. During a verification drive in July-August, the state government found almost 1.3 million "unnecessary" ration cards in the possession of people. These cards have been taken back by the government and...