-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Prior police verification for issue of fresh passports may soon be a thing of the past, with the ministry of external affairs (MEA) proposing to rely on aadhaar card for identification of the applicant and on the National Crime Records Bureau's (NCRB) Database for validation of his/her criminal antecedents. With the applicant's self-declaration on aspects like citizenship, criminal antecedents, criminal proceedings, summons/warrants etc also thrown...

-The Hindu ‘Migrant Workmen Act, 1979, often ignored' Chennai: In a bid to keep track of the workforce from other States in the city, the Chennai police have decided to create a Database of migrant labourers. On Saturday, a meeting was held between the police and members of Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), builders and labour department officials at the Commissionerate. "Deputy commissioners will be the nodal officers to collect...

-The Hindu The imperatives of governance have a tendency to make political parties think differently once they are in power and revisit earlier misgivings. Nothing illustrates this better than the Narendra Modi government's decision to go ahead with the ‘Aadhaar' scheme aimed at giving unique identification numbers to residents. The Bharatiya Janata Party had on some occasions in the past voiced its reservations about the viability and desirability of the...

-Livemint A look at the trends in suicide rates, and the areas where they are the highest Global attitude surveys may rank Indians among the most optimistic in the world but suicide deaths in the country tell a different and more depressing story. Suicide rates in India are among the highest in the world, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) Database of global suicide deaths. Please click here to read more.   ...

-Livemint The health ministry will also digitize various govt-run health centres including primary health centres, community health centres and hospitals New Delhi: The Union health ministry is rolling out an online Database of medicines stocked at government-run health centres and a centralized agency to procure drugs as patient groups and civil society organizations highlight shortages triggering greater drug immunity and higher treatment costs. The ministry will also digitize various government-run health centres...