For the preparation of the Commonwealth Games 2010, around Rs 17,400 crore have been spent on Delhi by the government over the past three years. The over-used word deployed by public leaders and officials to describe the city, which they hope will emerge from these exertions, is ‘world-class’. But forgotten are the men and women whose toil will make this ‘world-class’ city possible. At its peak in 2008-09, an estimated...

With often preventable, non-communicable diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory illness accounting for 60 per cent of all global deaths, experts from around the world gathered at a United Nations forum today to draw up plans to reverse the trend. Solutions exist to prevent premature deaths from such diseases by cutting tobacco use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and the harmful use of alcohol, yet the...

With 15 of Orissa's 30 districts hit by drought amid allegations of more than 400 starvation deaths in nine years, a Supreme Court panel has asked the administration to rescue hungry people immediately to prevent possible deaths. The SC appointed Commissioner and Special Commissioner have recommended a "protocol" for preventing hunger deaths in the state. "Protocol for preventing starvation would ensure that the state response is appropriate to mitigate some...

The government has decided to simplify the process of issuing Disability certificates through a slew of steps that would among other things relieve disadvantaged people in rural areas of the trouble of making long, “cumbersome” trips. The social justice ministry has decided to let doctors at primary health centres issue Disability certificates to those with visible handicaps such as blindness, amputations and paralysis of limbs. At present, a person with disabilities has...

The Union Cabinet on Thursday decided to amend the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, (RTE) to make it more disabled-friendly by including children with autism, cerebral palsy and multiple disabilities within its ambit. This has been a pending demand of the Disability sector which was up in arms in August this year over Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry confining the provision mandating that schools...