-The Hindu The Left parties have always maintained that the financial statements and accounts of a political party should be made publicly available, and hence strongly rejected the order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) that sought to bring six national parties under the purview of the Right to Information Act, 2005. Disputing the CIC's argument that parties were public authorities, Prakash Karat, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist),...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Arun Mehta wanted to do more with his engineering skills than stare at a computer screen all day. He wanted to use his skills to interact with and empower different kinds of people. Mehta, who has coded a software for scientist Stephen Hawking, has developed many software and apps for people with disabilities. Bhushan Verma, a multimedia professional, developed a tool for children to help them...

-Deccan Chronicle New Delhi: On the eve of Quit India Day, August 8, over 2,000 citizens from 20 states came together at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi for a day-long protest and march demanding that GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) and multinational seed giant, Monsanto quit India. The delegation marched to Parliament also asking the government to withdraw the BRAI (Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India) bill 2013. An Indian flag made out of organic...

-The Indian Express To reduce poverty, India needs to concentrate on promoting healthcare and education of the poor It is sometimes argued that a country such as India, aiming to eliminate absolute poverty, should only be concerned about economic growth, and not worry about inequality. Is that right? Yes, growth is (typically) good for the poor but it is no less true that inequality is (typically) bad for the poor. There is little...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Branded medicines cost 2-15 times more than non-branded generic medicines sold at Jan Aushadhi stores. For example, a 10-tablet strip of Diclofenac SR (100mg), a popular pain killer, costs Rs 51.91 whereas the same generic medicine costs only Rs 3.35 at Jan Aushadhi stores. An 100 ml bottle of cough syrup manufactured and marketed by drug companies costs Rs 33 while those sold at Jan Aushadhi...