-The HIndustan Times There is concern again about missing persons and bodies found in canals in Haryana. Surfacing of such bodies in Punjab’s canals has figured in media reports for years. But neither Punjab nor Haryana police take inteRest in retrieving the bodies, as the recovery involves reporting it, then attempting to identify it and locating the kin, cremation and maintenance of a record. Pushing bodies downstream eliminates all this bother. But...

-The Hindu Giving itself discretionary powers on release funds to States under various Central schemes, the Planning Commission has decided to Restructure 16 Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) into Additional Central Assistance (ACA) Schemes. The new funding pattern will be effective from 2013-14. While Restructuring the CSSs will give more flexibility to the States to utilise the funds, it will also give the Planning Commission absolute control over the quantity of money to...

-Live Mint The first in a two-part series examining the opaque world of clinical trials in India  A hospital in Indore has been able to get away with unethical medical trials in which 32 people have died over five years, according to the state government. This despite several investigations, a state government ban and Supreme Court strictures—a classic example of the lawless nature of the clinical trial business in India.   Lata Mehra, who...

-The Indian Express Setting aside Russian contentions, the government has decided that the next two reactors in Kudankulam will come under the new civil nuclear liability law, and not be covered by the agreement on Kudankulam 1 and 2. The move, which comes a month before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India, is expected to provoke a major price escalation in the deal, with the Russian side likely to go back...

-The Hindu Farmers’ protest against the proposed 1,980-MW power plant in the trans-Yamuna Karchhna tehsil of Allahabad district entered its 777th day on Tuesday. While the district administration recently served a month’s ultimatum on the farmers to return the compensation they had received for land acquisition, the farmers told The Hindu that they would not be able to repay the amount, regardless of the ultimatum. Meanwhile, they say they will continue agitating at...