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The right-wing Daily Telegraph says that the UK begged India to accept overseas development as part of a deal to sweeten the purchase of fighter jets. India tried to refuse, according to the Telegraph. The UK gave the money any way but India bought the fighters from France. This will put new pressure on Britain’s …

British aid to India under strong domestic attack Read More »

Controversy rages over the release of genetically-modified mosquitoes which might help fight Dengue. An article in today’s PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases suggests that the “secret” release of the insects in a British colony will be the model for introduction of other GM insects in the future. Is the threat from Dengue high enough in India to …

Controversy over Dengue-fighting GM insects Read More »

This is a quite powerful piece from the editor of the Shillong Times. She travelled to a model village in Maharashtra where a dynamic Sarpanch has solved many of the toughest health and environmental problems. He offered her Rs 100 for every mosquito that she could find. The editor wonders why the North-east doesn’t follow …

A village that could be a model for the North-east? Read More »

This two-part series from India Together (May and June 2011) makes for sobering reading. Ramesh Menon makes a strong case for India to have a national antibiotic policy. He is right to highlight the problem of over-use in India but we’re not sure that “the West has woken up to the issue”: use of antibiotics …

Superbugs: take the threat more seriously Read More »

Health is not yet one of those raw nerve issues in Indian politics but it is being used to win votes in key state elections. That’s a positive sign. Mention access to hospital care to a politician in France or the UK and they will jump as if you’ve just jabbed a raw nerve. Politicians …

The good news: health is becoming more political Read More »