-The Hindu We need to rethink social safety nets in India’s growing economy so that they can also focus on the accidents of life rather than solely on the accidents of birth. Sometimes the grand narratives of the Left and the Right do not seem to have any relationship with the lived experiences of ordinary Indians. For the past two decades, the Left has tried to expand social welfare programmes for the...

-The Hindu The matter was raised during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha to which the Health Minister, JP Nadda, could only promise that he would issue an advisory. New Delhi: Parliamentarians across party lines on Tuesday demanded that the mysteries of what one MP, KTS Tulsi, termed “the great Indian spit” be revealed through a scientific study. He held the view that the Indian habit of spitting was the cause of many...

-The Telegraph Guwahati: Arunachal Pradesh has the highest number of liver Cancer patients in the country and the second highest stomach cancer cases in the world after China, a nationwide cancer-tracking programme conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research has found. The latest report on the country's cancer scene, based on data available with the council's population-based cancer registries (PBCR), also shows that Aizawl in Mizoram has the highest incidence of...

-The Indian Express Government privileges the private over the public, preferring trade to health In a dramatic development, US industry groups recently claimed the Indian government offered them a “private” assurance that compulsory licences will not be issued, save in emergencies and for non-commercial purposes. Needless to state, such an assurance flies in the face of the Patents Act and the public health safeguards enshrined in it. Illustratively, Section 84 mandates that...

-The Hindu Medicines remain overpriced and unaffordable in India. In a country mired in poverty, medical debt remains the second biggest factor for keeping millions in poverty. The international pharmaceutical industry has found its cash cow in India’s beleaguered consumers. With a minimum wage of Rs.250/day for a government worker, a basic wage worker afflicted with a chronic disease like multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis faces penury. His treatment, with drug combinations, which works out...