-The Telegraph New Delhi: A group of retired bureaucrats have written an open letter ruing the "rising authoritarianism and majoritarianism" that is choking dissent, and urging public authorities to take "corrective action" to "reclaim and defend the spirit of the Constitution". "Argumentation and discussion about different perspectives - the lifeblood not only of institutions of learning but of democracy itself -are being throttled," the letter says. "Disagreement and dissent are considered seditious...

-The Asian Age The NGOs have warned against treating poor children across the state as guinea pigs, putting their health at risk. Mumbai: Instead of providing hot cooked, nutritious meals to malnourished kids, the state women and child welfare department  has recently decided to purchase corporate-manufactured ‘ready to use therapeutic food (RUTF)’ packets for severely malnourished children across Maharashtra. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on August 4, permitting the use...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: Over two decades after midday meals were introduced in city schools, one out of every three children studying in a municipal school is malnourished, an RTI reply has revealed. The data showed that undernourishment of students in these schools is accelerating with the incidence showing a four-fold jump over the last three years. In the same period, the utilization of midday meal budget fell from 81% to...

-The Times of India AHMEDABAD: As the state is waiting for the onset of monsoon, water management experts are worried about harnessing the maximum amount rainwater to replenish aquifers. During a national-level workshop in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, experts said that out of 25 blocks defined by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), 23 are overexploited in the state. The worst affected are districts in north Gujarat where depletion is more than 100% -...

-Firstpost.com Dr Mano Ranjan has been working at the Institute of Infectious Diseases situated on the Anantapur-Kadiri Road in Andhra Pradesh since 2009. This is the premier institute for the entire Rayalaseema region (southern Andhra Pradesh) for those suffering from HIV/AIDS. Dr Ranjan gets 25 new HIV/AIDS patients every day. "It is a ticking time bomb," he says. Thirty percent of the cases are from hamlets in and around Kadiri, unarguably the...