Privatisation of the Electricity Sector and Its Repercussions

THE decision of Arvind Kejriwal’s government in Delhi to have the accounts of the three distribution companies (discoms) subjected to a CAG audit has had immediate repercussions. The three discoms are moving the courts against a CAG … Read more

South African Patients Need our Solidarity

A few days back, the Health Minister of South Africa, Dr Motsoaledi, characterised an elaborate plot hatched by large multinational drug companies as “genocide” and a conspiracy of “satanic magnitude”. He was referring to public … Read more

GSLV Success: Indian Space Programme Comes of Age

Scientists and engineers at ISRO, and people all over India, heaved a huge sigh of relief and cheered loudly, at the successful launch on January 5 of the GSLV D5 rocket with an indigenous cryogenic … Read more

Other Drones

We are all too familiar, and unpleasantly so, with the advent of military drones and their extensive use particularly by the US in theatres all over the world and especially, although not exclusively, in counter-terrorism … Read more

The Mars Mission Moves out of Earth’s Gravity

JUST past midnight of November 30, India’s Mars Orbiter or Mangalyaan left earth’s gravitational pull for its ten-month long journey to Mars. This happened after a series of orbit raising manoeuvres undertaken by ISRO in … Read more

Iran and the P5+1 Accord

THE negotiations between Iran and nominally P5+1, but in reality the US, have led to an interim accord in which Iran will temporarily restrict its nuclear program and the US will ease some of the … Read more

India’s Mission to Mars

India’s Mars Mission started off in spectacular fashion on 5th November with a text book launch and precise positioning of the Mangalyaan (literally craft to Mars) spacecraft in its planned orbit around Earth. The successful … Read more

Breaking the US Control over the Internet

THE NSA skeletons keep tumbling out of the cupboard. Not only were the Brazilian and Mexican Presidents Dilma Roussef’s and Felipe Calderón’s – emails and phones hacked, NSA had targeted the French President Francois Hollande … Read more

Importance of Public Services in Health Care

In India, as well as in many developing countries, there is wide acceptance that the present health care system needs serious reforms. There is, however, very limited consensus on the shape and extent of reforms … Read more

Revisiting Global Internet Governance in the Light of NSA

THE internet governance is back in the news with Snowden’s NSA revelations and the US government’s blatant violations of its “stewardship” of the internet. Bruce Schneier, one of the leading cyber security experts and a … Read more

IPCC 5th Assessment Report: climate change raging on

The season for the volume by volume publication of the much-awaited Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) opened last week with the releases on 27 September 2013 of the … Read more

Indian Bureaucrats Vote with Their Feet Against India’s Health System

A recent notification, dated September 25, 2013, by the ministry of personnel of the government of India is virtually a vote of no-confidence on India’s health system. The notification amends existing laws regarding entitlements available … Read more