Whatever the justification given by journalists whose names have come up in the `Radiagate' expose, there is no question that it has forced much-needed introspection. For years, the cosiness between prominent media persons and both politicians and the corporate world had become blatant. But rarely to the point where it was flaunted as it is today. In many ways, the 24-hour-news format and television have made this evident with anchors...

December 1 is World AIDS Day, and there is some reason for India to feel good about. A new study, conducted by a multinational diagnostic chain, claims that the number of HIV positive patients has declined in the country in the past three years. The study, conducted by Metropolis Healthcare Ltd, tested a sample size of 18,005 walk-in patients for HIV-related diseases between January-October 2008, 2009 and 2010, in Mumbai, New Delhi,...

The Supreme Court on Tuesday took strong exception to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filing an “unsigned” status report about its investigations into the issue of black money stashed in foreign banks. The apex court returned the unsigned status report which was placed before it in the sealed cover to the investigating agency making it clear that “it will not accept the report which has not been signed by any official”. “We want...

NIIRA RADIA, the lobbyist at the heart of India’s audacious multi-billion telecom swindle, inaugurated a Krishna temple she funded in south Delhi on her birthday — that, interestingly, coincides with Indira Gandhi’s. Those present on the occasion said Radia prayed for long, presumably seeking divine intervention to wriggle out of the country’s biggest scandal. Before the temple visit, notices from the country’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), Income Tax (IT) Department and the...

If India is becoming a favourite destination for clinical trials, Maharashtra is the hub with Mumbai and Pune accounting for the largest number of clinical trials in the country. Maharashtra alone accounted for well over a quarter of all the clinical trials registered with the clinical trials registry of India till 2010. A study of the trials recorded in the registry, done by the Centre for Studies in Ethics and...