With a pinch of salt

Claims made by fast food giants that they cannot reduce the high salt content in their products, which is a serious health concern, have been belied by a study.

Rules of e-dump

Tigers buffered

Hanging by a thread

Fancy wall for Sundarbans

Turmoil in academia

On May 13 when the term of the body of governors of the Medical Council of India (MCI) expires, it seems there would be no one at the helm of medical education in the country. The Union health ministry is still undecided on who should take charge of MCI.

Unruffled flakes

DRDA faces axe

The institution that administers Centre’s rural development programmes—the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA)—may be wound up. A committee set up by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) last year to restructure this key institution has recommended abolition of DRDA. The committee finds that DRDA is in direct conflict with the Constitutional mandate for panchayats, which are increasingly being assigned the responsibility of implementing rural development programmes.

Half-way to autonomy

The tiny 16-house village of Kuppaner in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district is bustling with activity. A few days ago, its gram sabha started felling bamboo in areas where it has community forest rights (CFR). Kuppaner is among the 400 villages in the district that have been granted CFR under the Forest Rights Act.

Silent killers