-The Hindu ‘Healthcare as an optional public service’ would ensure the legal right to receive free, quality care in a public institution The lingering COVID-19 crisis is a good time to revive an issue that is, oddly, slow to come to life in India — universal health care (UHC). Meanwhile, UHC has become a well-accepted objective of public policy around the world. It has even been largely realised in many countries, not...

-The Hindu Business Line The situation is alarming. Cultivation costs are increasing and the quality of water is deteriorating Groundwater has become the major source of water in most countries today. It currently contributes to about half of the world’s total drinking water , 40 per cent of agricultural needs and one-third of industrial demand. The contribution of groundwater in India is much higher than the world average. Is groundwater exploitation in...

-The Hindu Business Line Seeks taking necessary action as very large hoardings had taken place The Centre has asked Madhya Pradesh government to “step in to take necessary action” under the Essential Commodities Act after its team found “very large hoardings” of soyabean and mustard seeds in Dewas, Shajapur and Guna districts in excess of the stock limit prescribed under the law. Stressing the need for effective enforcement of the EC Act by...

On Janaushadhi Diwas this year (i.e., March 7th, 2022), Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi stated that the poor and the middle-class benefited from the 'Jan Aushadhi Kendras' that were set up to provide generic drugs at affordable prices. He said that the poor and the middle class saved around Rs.13,000 crore through these stores during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of COVID 19 crisis, the 'Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India'...

-The Hindu The increase in temperature would reduce the quality of harvested wheat since it thrives in cold weather Unusual warm weather conditions, accompanied by a prolonged dry spell in Punjab and Haryana have left farmers and experts anxious, who fear that prevailing climate conditions would not just harm the quality of the ready to harvest wheat crop, but could also delay and increase the cost of cultivation for sowing cotton, the...