-The Telegraph New Delhi: International health activists have joined their Indian counterparts in decrying what they say are Barack Obama's dual policy on big drug companies, pledging to break their stranglehold in the US but promoting their interests in India. The activists claimed yesterday that the India-US joint statement, issued during Obama's visit to India, contains signals that the Indian government could be preparing to weaken its intellectual property regulations on medicines,...

-The Indian Express At a time when the NDA government's moves to prune spending on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and to limit its scope has brought the focus back on the gaps in the scheme's implementation, data with the Ministry of Rural Development show over 70 per cent wages have not been paid on time under the scheme so far this financial year. As per a presentation made...

-The Financial Express Only 6% farmers have gained from selling wheat and paddy directly to any procurement agency and the diversion of grains from the public distribution system is close to 47%. Against this backdrop, the Shanta Kumar panel's report on reorienting the role and restructuring of Food Corporation of India (FCI) needs to be adopted by the government at the earliest and in totality. This will indeed make for huge...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government is all set to give a digital boost to the flagship rural jobs programme by providing tablets to 2.65 lakh gram panchayats in the country to monitor its implementation. The mobile monitoring of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) will cost the Centre about Rs 265 crore, with the rural development ministry distributing tablets costing Rs 10,000 each to...

The results of the District Level Household and Facility Survey-4 for the year 2012-13, commonly known as DLHS-4, are out and it shows that among the 18 states and 3 UTs, the percentage of moderate wasting for children below 5 years is highest among Maharashtra (i.e. 34.1%). Similarly, in case of severe wasting and moderate underweight, the situation is worst in Maharashtra as compared to the rest (Please check the...