It's official now. At the primary healthcare level, there is no difference in the performance of MBBS doctors with five-and-a-half years' training and non-physician clinicians with three years' training who have been called "legal quacks" by the Indian Medical Association (IMA). This has been demonstrated through a study conducted in Chhattisgarh that compared the performance of different types of clinical care providers at the primary care level. Following the controversy...

India’s monsoon rains were 19% above normal in the week to 15 Sept., the weather office said on Thursday, feeding concern cotton and groundnut harvests could be further delayed in Asia’s third-largest economy. “The monsoon withdrawal is unlikely at least in the next couple of days,” said a senior official of the weather office who did not wish to be named. Rains had already exceeded averages by 26% in the previous week. Signs...

In an apparent reference to former Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) Pratyush Sinha’s recent comment regarding his “thankless” job, Union Law and Justice Minister M Veerappa Moily on Monday said senior officers weren’t expected to make such statements. Sinha had observed at an interview last week that the worst part of his “thankless” job was observing how corruption had increased as people became more materialistic. “I don’t want to name anyone, he...

Claims that Indian paramilitary forces pursuing Maoist rebels in the central state of Chhattisgarh tortured villagers are under investigation. Troops from the Border Security Force (BSF) allegedly beat and gave electric shocks to tribal people, including women, during interrogation. BSF director general Raman Srivastava said an internal inquiry was underway. A large number of Indian police and paramilitary are based in Chhattisgarh, a stronghold of Maoist insurgents. The rebels, who say they are fighting...

Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Mani Shankar Aiyar said on Sunday the authorities were not taking enough steps to bridge the widening gap between the rich and the poor. He raised questions over the implementation of major schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) and accused the Union government of “relentlessly” supporting the stock market, thinking its health reflected the people's health. Delivering a lecture here...