-The Hindu The shutdown of the 220 MW Unit-1 of the Kakrapar Atomic Power Station located in Gujarat’s Surat district following leakage of heavy water used to cool the nuclear reactor, on March 11, the fifth anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster in Japan, is at once a reminder of the inherent risks associated with operating nuclear reactors and the importance of augmenting safety mechanisms. Unlike the Fukushima accident,...

-The Hindu   Karnataka secures third position while Gujarat stands fifth, according to survey   Poll-bound States Kerala and Tamil Nadu secured first and second ranking in public affairs index (PAI) in governance in States, while Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha are lagging on this front, a latest survey of think-tank Public Affairs Centre (PAC), Bengaluru, has revealed. Karnataka secured third position while Gujarat stood fifth. Karnataka secured top position among all States in the...

-AP New Delhi: Doctors Without Borders has challenged Pfizer’s application for an Indian patent for its pneumonia vaccine so cheaper versions can be available to children in poor countries and to humanitarian organisations. The medical aid group, also known as Medicins Sans Frontieres, said in a statement late on Friday that it was challenging Pfizer’s patent application to allow Indian manufacturers to make affordable versions of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. If Pfizer is...

-The Hindu The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016, better known as Aadhaar Bill, was introduced in Lok Sabha on March 3. The Bill intends to provide for targeted delivery of subsidies and services to individuals residing in India by assigning them unique identity numbers. Parliament is debating on the certain portions of the Bill, which may need clarification or amendments: 1. Allowing private agencies to use...

-The Hindu The steps taken towards social democracy are being reversed. What we have now are social insurance policies from above. This subverts the entire project of giving voice to the voiceless. India has paid a heavy price for failing to institutionalise social democracy It is generally agreed that theories of social democracy, in comparison to theories of formal political democracy, take cognisance of background inequalities that hamper the realisation of basic...