-The Times of India   In an open house organised at the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA), the police and citizens came face to face on the issue of transparency in police stations and the need for proactive disclosures under RTI Act. This meet was jointly organised by Society for Women Action And Training Initiative (SWATI) and Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) on Thursday.  The meet agreed that the RTI Act can become an...

The 'Food Security' Bill falls flat as its content does not match its aspirations A disconnect runs through the nomenclature, preamble, objectives and content of the National Food Security Bill, 2011. The Preamble goes beyond the Title and states that the Bill provides “for food and nutritional security in human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable price….” Even on cursory reading, it is...

The Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) has released draft recommendations for a social security package for the country’s unorganized sector, which envisages providing life, disability and health cover, maternity benefits and old-age pension to workers. NAC, in a draft released on 7 March, suggested that the different welfare schemes being run by the ministries of women and child development, health and family welfare, finance and labour and employment should be...

India’s decision-makers seem to find it difficult to see that there are children in the country. Being unable to see them, they are unable to perceive that they are hungry. In an age when we are able to use euphemisms like ‘under-nutrition’, this is perhaps not surprising. But it is disgraceful none the less.   This country has a large population of children. Fortyone per cent of its total numbers. The national...

India looks to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure on health in 12th Plan Ahead of the 12th Five Year Plan, which aims to focus on health, the Union ministry of health and family welfare called a one-day national consultation to deliberate social determinants of health. The outcome would influence health policies for the next Plan period, beginning April. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), social determinants like poor economic status, lower social status,...