-The Telegraph The state government is trying to work out a health insurance scheme to cover 10 lakh families living below the poverty line who do not benefit from the Centre’s Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY). At present about 25 lakh BPL families qualify for benefits under the central scheme while there are more than 35 lakh BPL families in the state according to a survey conducted a couple of years ago. The...

-The Hindu The ongoing peaceful protest against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant (KKNPP), which began in the early 1980s intensified after the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. The protests revolve around fears over public safety and health arising from the existence and operation of the nuclear facility. The protesters, the men, women and children of Idinthakarai and surrounding villages, have consistently demanded transparency and honest public consultation. They do not need high...

-The Indian Express A little over 11 years ago, when the Congress defeated the Asom Gana Parishad and Tarun Gogoi took over as chief minister of Assam, people had their doubts. Would this man who had spent most of his political career since 1971 as a Lok Sabha member be able to run this state? The state, with its unique tangle of ethnicity and politics, has, after all, always been a...

-Frontline Health activists say the health chapter of the Twelfth Plan document exaggerates the role of the private sector in providing health care. The draft chapter on health for the Twelfth Five Year Plan document not only is grossly inadequate in its approach but exaggerates to unrealistic levels the role of the private sector in providing health care. It invokes the concept of universal health care (UHC), but, critics say, it...

-The Hindu The West Bengal government got a major relief on Friday when the Supreme Court extended the interim order of suspension of the Calcutta High Court judgment that struck down the law intended to reclaim Singur land leased out to the Tatas and to give a part of it back to farmers who were yet to receive compensation for it. The High Court, while delivering judgment on June 22, suspended the...