-The Hindu District Mineral Foundations were set up to protect the interests of Adivasi communities who have borne the costs of mining. But they are flawed in their current form Through 2011-13, dogged investigators from the Justice M. B. Shah Commission on illegal mining toured the rust-red villages, forests and rivers of northern Odisha, and trawled through reams of official records including from the environment, minerals, railways, and revenue departments. They met...

-The Hindu Business Line Transparency required on data concerning clinical trials and procurement of drugs Earlier this year, rotavirus vaccine 116E was launched with much fanfare. The celebration of this vaccine that would protect infants against rotavirus gastroenteritis was on two counts. It was developed locally and its price was pegged at $1, less than competing rotavirus vaccines that sell in the country. But the rollout of this indigenous vaccine as part of...

-Economic and Political Weekly The draft National Health Policy 2015 is an improvement over its predecessors--the policies of 1984 and 2002. However, it also reveals several gaps, inconsistencies and blind spots which tend to dilute otherwise constructive proposals. The purpose of this article is to open up the draft to further public debate and comment. Forum for Medical Ethics Society (fmesmumbai@gmail.com) is a voluntary, non-profit organisation registered in Mumbai. The society was...

-Down to Earth A report blames ineffective policies, lack of budget and the absence of better monitoring policies for poor performance India has shown little improvement in breastfeeding infants and ensuring healthy diet to young children, a report by the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI) and the Public Health Resource Network (PHRN) says. The study blames gaps in the implementation of government policies for the dismal performance. Since 2004, the report...

-The Indian Express It will be taken up aggressively to replace chemical fertilisers: Khadse  The Maharashtra government is drawing up a comprehensive plan to promote organic farming in a phased manner as an alternative to chemical fertilisers. The Ministry of Agriculture is preparing the draft and special allocations will be made to meet the target. The stress on organic farming reflects the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s view that chemical fertilisers should be done...