Resolution adopted at the Central Committee Meeting held on January 6-8, 2017 at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.THE south Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and Union Territory of Puducherry are facing severe drought.Tamil Nadu is facing a serious drought ever known in the history of the state.  Except Chennai, the whole of Tamil Nadu is in the grip of worst drought.  Both the monsoons – south west and north east failed causing a deficit of rainfall to the tune of more than 62 percent.  Lakhs and lakhs of acres of cultivable lands rema

TO safeguard the interests of the common people, the government of Kerala has designed innovative policies to be followed in the public health sector. The standard of health services in Kerala has reached an impressive level compared to the rest of the states in India, which is also on par with that of the developed world. The state had pioneered universal health care services in the country and its palliative care service has largely been applauded. Kerala is also the only state to have a formal palliative care policy in the country.

A SCANDAL of humongous proportions has hit the South Korean president Park Gyeun-hye and plunged domestic politics into turmoil. The calls for the resignation of the South Korean president are getting louder by the day. Public support for her is now in single digits. The South Korean capital, Seoul has been witnessing huge protests since the scandal erupted in full force at the end of October. One of the biggest protest rallies the country has seen was held on November 12. People from all over the country congregated in Seoul demanding that the president immediately tender her resignation.

THE BJP national executive which met last week has called Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposal for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state legislatures "another path breaking initiative". This is hardly surprising considering that the BJP election manifesto had called for simultaneous elections.Modi has put out this proposal as part of a package for electoral reforms. Last September, President Pranab Mukherjee had endorsed the idea.

THE ink has barely dried on the acquisition of the French Rafale fighter aircraft, and India has once again entered the international arms market with the intention to procure hundreds of fighter jets, albeit with the proviso that they be manufactured in India. The Rafale deal, for outright purchase of 36 twin-engined medium-weight multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) worth around $ 7.8 billion (Rs 50,000 crores), did not quite turn out to be  ‘the mother of all defence deals’ it was once hailed as.