MAY 15 – NEWS FLASH
Matrimonial ads based on caste and creed violate Constitution
Matrimonial advertisements in newspapers and magazines based on race, caste and religion are very common today. Media organisations charge high rates for publishing them. However, the Press Council of India (PCI), that governs the conduct of the print media, doesn’t allow publication of matrimonial advertisements based on race, caste and religion, reports indiatvnews.com.
PCI made this disclosure in reply to an RTI query recently by a Delhi-based law practitioner, Kush Kalara. He had asked PCI to clarify its stand on matrimonial ads in view of the mandate of Article 15 of the Constitution of India that says the state shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex and/or place of birth. But PCI can only warn or censure newspapers for breaching ethics and standards of journalism.
Bring private hospitals under RTI, says CIC
The Central Information Commission (CIC) has recommended to the Centre, states and Union territories to bring private hospitals under the ambit of the Right to Information Act (RTI), which it says will force them to provide medical records of patients to their families daily. End ‘medical terrorism’ and ensure that the licence to practice medicine does not become a licence to kill and extort, it observed, according to The Times of India.
M. Sridhar Acharyulu, information commissioner, CIC, said providing daily records will act as check on hospitals from prescribing unnecessary diagnostic tests, performing unnecessary surgeries and procedures such as caesareans and angioplasties, inserting low-quality stents while charging for high-quality ones and other such malpractices.
AIIMS endorses Ayurveda for rheumatoid arthritis
In a significant scientific validation for traditional therapies, India’s premier medical institution, All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi, has found certain Ayurvedic formulations effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which causes irreversible joint damage, as reported in The Times of India.
The study found Ayurvedic medicines Ashwagandha powder and Sidh Makardhwaj, helped in relieving pain in tender and swollen joints, and increased mobility in a majority of subjects. AIIMS is also conducting studies to validate the medicinal values of Turmeric powder for epilepsy, Shankhpushpi for Alzheimer’s and stem bark of Arjuna plant for chronic heart failure.
New real estate bill will help protect buyers
In no other sector has consumer interest been so severely compromised as in the real estate and construction sector, according to a column in Hindustan Times. Consumers face several problems like one-sided contracts, inordinate delays in handing over possession, refusal to refund money; prices jacked up midway through the construction and plans and locations changed at will by builders. In 2013, the UPA government introduced the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013. Now, the NDA is re-introducing the bill with some important changes.
Some of the salient features of the bill include mandatory registration of real estate projects and real estate agents, mandatory public disclosure of all project details and prohibition of the sale of projects prior to the receipt of all sanctions and approvals. It also gives the consumer right to get a refund along with interest and compensation in case of default on the part of the builder and also a fast-track dispute resolution mechanism.
Energy drinks can cause sudden cardiac deaths in young people
To many adolescents and young adults, energy drinks have become essential for getting through the day. But they carry a serious risk of sudden death, a new study finds, according to www.consumeraffairs.com. Roughly 31% of adolescents from ages 12 to 19 consume energy drinks on a regular basis.
These beverages can aggravate underlying heart issues. Because of high amounts of caffeine and sugar, dangerous arrhythmias can easily develop in the hearts of young people who drink them. At times, such drinks contain more caffeine than mentioned in the label in the form of ingredients like guarana, ginseng, and taurine. Ingesting high doses of any of these substances can be very dangerous.
Processed foods making kids sick, finds study
Bad food habits is taking a toll on our children, warn doctors. A group of doctors have published a multi-centric study to drive home the ill effects of moving away from healthy eating habits and opting for easy-to-use and widely accessible processed food, reports www.thehindu.com.
“The rising prevalence of paediatric inflammatory bowel disease (P-IBD) in India is a result of changing lifestyle and food habits in children, especially during the early stages of life. These changing food habits have resulted in altered immune mechanism in children,†said Dr. Nishant Wadhwa, co-author of the study and paediatric gastroenterologist. In P-IBD, the child’s own immune system turns against his/her intestine, resulting in need for long-term treatment.
