November 4th

· The Chief Justice of a High Court must be from outside the State?

· Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission (IRIGC)

· Global Community Policing Conclave 2010

· International Police Executive Symposium (IPES)

o Janamaithri Suraksha Paddhathi

o Nagrik Community in Assam

· Withdrawal of clearance to Posco

o Forest Advisory Committee (FAC)

o Forest Rights Act

· Economy

o Shock therapy

· Mount Merapi- Indonesia

· Editorial:

o Cultural development initiatives supported by the Government of India so far have not substantially promoted contemporary art practices and festivals. The new draft policy announced by the Ministry of Culture promises to change this. It proposes to extend financial support to established large festivals such as the Mumbai Khala Goda art and Chennai music festivals to help develop them into international events. A long-term guarantee of sustained funding will go a long way in creating a stable environment to implement ambitious plans.

o Re-packaging the mental health programmes- The World Health Organisation (WHO) spearheaded the crusade to incorporate mental health into primary health care in low and middle-income countries in the 1970s. The WHO expert committee reports, their multinational collaborative community care projects, and the Alma Ata Declaration of “Health for all by 2000” formed the platform for launching national mental health programmes, India proposed the National Mental Health Programme in 1982, ensuring the availability and accessibility of minimum mental health care.

The Bellary project attempted to scale the scheme to the district level and formed the basis of the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP). This demonstration of scalability resulted in the rolling out of the programme across many districts in the country. The DMHP aimed at establishing nodal training centres in each district, training local health professionals for early detection and management, and providing out-patient clinical services and facilities for in-patient treatment. Today, the DMHP operates in over 122 districts.

The WHO's new mental health Gap Action Program (mhGAP) is the latest in a series of repackaged solutions to bridge the huge gap between the burden of mental illness and the delivery of mental health care. The core strategies identified by the programme are information, policy and service development, advocacy, and research.

Poor infrastructure, overburdened systems, Inappropriate training, Medical Education, Professional Apathy, Institutional Leadership, Health Advocacy and Technical Inputs.

Need to be done: The goal of mental health for all, a socialistic ideal struggling in today's capitalistic world, demands a reappraisal of past programmes. Medical education needs to be skill-based to produce competent practitioners. The strengthening of the general health infrastructure, to improve primary health care delivery, is mandatory for the effective integration of mental health into primary care practice. Leadership from politicians, administrators, health and mental health professionals is crucial. The changed reality in India demands new technical inputs, including the use of the private sector. Educating the population about mental illness using the mass media will erase stigma and increase the demand for services.

· Science Based Water shed Management- shift from a supply-demand mindset to holistic science-based management.

o Challenges:

§ adaptation to limited water availability

§ local management

o India faced with an immense task of a transition from an infrastructure of existing tanks, canals and other water structures, to making them part of a watershed-based local management system. This transition has to be achieved through holistic principles guided by the hydrological cycle.

o The emerging holistic perception of a national water policy based on the hydrological cycle is ambitious and audacious. Its success will depend on courageous leadership from the Central Government, and its ability to persuade a well-informed citizen to rise up to Gandhiji's concept of dharma in which rights flow from responsibilities.