-TheWire.in Most of the outreach efforts of the finance ministry to explain and create awareness about the GST have been with the bigger industry players. It is becoming increasingly clear that that neither the Centre nor states are adequately prepared to launch the goods and services tax (GST) on July 1. The sheer multiplicity of taxes, as also different tax slabs for the same commodity or service, is a problem which has...

-The Hindu Claim that decision will reduce dependence on oil imports is baseless, say activists Chennai: As the Centre mulls over giving approval for commercial cultivation of GM mustard, a section of biologists and activists have warned that such a move would be ill-advised. Arguing that the rationale given by the government and industry to allow Genetically Modified mustard to enter the food ecosystem is flawed, Kavitha Kuruganti, convener of the Alliance for...

-TheWire.in Irrespective of the marital status of women, access to safe abortion services and quality post-abortion care, including counselling, need to be legally guaranteed. On February 28, 2017, the Supreme Court refused to allow a woman to abort her 26-week-old foetus that would be born with Down syndrome, a congenital disorder that postpones the onset of developmental and intellectual features. Admitting that the child may suffer from physical and mental abnormalities, the...

-The Hindu Doctors’ objections to prescribing medicines by generic names fly in the face of a recent report on substandard drugs In a surprise move on April 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his government will soon make it mandatory for doctors to prescribe medicines by generic names. The decision was to ensure drug prices remain affordable and patients get a wider bouquet of options instead of being forced to...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Indian government is mulling monetary incentives to private doctors who provide correct treatment to patients with tuberculosis and financial and nutritional support to patients under new strategies to eliminate TB as a public health problem by 2025. The Union health ministry's "national strategic plan for tuberculosis elimination 2017-2025" also seeks to enhance investments in diagnostic tools and treatment to help cut the country's new TB cases from...