-Outlook Berhampur (Odisha): Darkness still grips several rural areas of cyclone-ravaged Ganjam district in Odisha even though exactly a month has passed since Phailin hit the district. While restoration work is yet to be completed in rural areas, almost all the urban areas have got back power supply, power distribution company sources said. Of the 475 gram panchayats, power supply was partially restored in 269 panchayat headquarters so far, but fully restored in...

-Outlook Erode: Five panchayats in Erode district would be made model panchayats with implementation of the total sanitation scheme and full coverage of toilets, District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) officials said. The panchayats are Pazhamangalam (Modakurichi Block) Varadhanallur (Bhavani Block), Karapalayam (Erode block), Pariyur (Gobichettipalayam) and Kullappanaickkenpalayam in T. N. Palayam Block. The DRDA officials said a campaign has been conducted on the harmful effects of open defecation and the need to construct...

-The Hindu Bangalore: It is a move that will bring a positive change to preventive healthcare, including maternal and disease-control programmes. The State government is all set to provide mobile phones to all the 35,000 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) in the State. These activists are community health workers in the World Bank-sponsored National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), which is being implemented by the Union government across the country. According to...

-The Business Standard India has to come to terms with a growing obesity problem that is rapidly becoming a crisis Obesity, an epidemic often thought to be exclusive to wealthy countries, is becoming a rapidly growing crisis for India. The National Family Health Survey of 2006 revealed that roughly one in four urban Indians was overweight or obese, and several more recent studies indicate that these numbers are increasing. A new study...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today asked every state to "follow" the Bihar model of linking housing benefits to toilets as a possible solution to the chronic problem of poor sanitation in Indian villages. The Union minister's praise, weeks after he had accused Narendra Modi of being a copycat toilet crusader, appeared to be aimed at giving a leg-up to chief minister Nitish Kumar, a potential ally for...