-The United Nations   Top United Nations officials today stressed the need to realize the human right to water and sanitation, stating that it is critical not only to a life of dignity but also to achieving progress in the areas such as poverty reduction, boosting child health and combating DISEases. In July 2010, the General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring that safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a human...

The Supreme Court criticises the Chhattisgarh and Central governments and orders the disbanding of Salwa Judum. THE case Nandini Sundar vs State of Chhattisgarh arose out of a writ petition (civil) filed in 2007 in the Supreme Court by Nandini Sundar, a Professor of sociology at the Delhi School of Economics; Ramachandra Guha, a historian; and E.A.S. Sarma, former Secretary to Government of India and former Commissioner, Tribal Welfare, Government...

Breakthroughs in the production and productivity of wheat and rice in the sixties and of cotton recently have been much appreciated, but similar advances in maize have gone largely unnoticed and unsung. Maize output has soared in the past 10 years from a mere 12 million tonnes in 2000-01 to over 21 million tonnes in 2010-11. This increase can largely be attributed to a surge in crop productivity rather than...

Traditional healing techniques, using indigenous medicinal plants, practiced efficiently for hundreds of years by some of India’s most elusive tribes residing in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is all set to become public. ICMR’s Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) is preparing a unique Community Biodiversity Register (CBDR) for the tribals of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands that will document their traditional healing practices, use of medicinal plants, healing record, mode of...

-The Hindu   Over 55 per cent of children in the age group 0-2 do not receive comprehensive immunisation in the country and approximately 2.7 million children under five do not receive any treatment for diarrhoea, a major killer of children. Among 25 developing countries, India has the highest number of children who do not receive even the most basic of healthcare services, according to new research by Save the Children. It also...