-IANS Kolkata: Lack of policy directions for ensuring quality implementation of programmes makes the Union Budget 2017-18 allocations to ailing core social SECtors like education and health inadequate in delivering the benefits, experts say. Schemes like Swachh Bharat-Urban and the National Social Assistance Programme saw no increase, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan got a mere 4.4 per cent rise in allocation, while the Integrated Child Development Services got an enhancement of about five per...

-Scroll.in India's social-SECtor spending remains woefully low and despite claims of being a pro-farmer Budget, the effective allocations are nearly the same as last year. Some commentators expected that the Union Budget 2017-’18 would craft a sharp departure from earlier budgets of this government. This it would do to mitigate the immense suffering of millions of casual workers, farmers and small traders caused by the “shock and awe” of the astoundingly callous...

-The Indian Express Linking of Aadhaar to a growing number of government entitlements is misguided LAST week the Union food ministry issued an unprecedented diktat. It has insisted that each family member must possess an Aadhaar number within four months, to be eligible for subsidised foodgrains under the National Food SECurity Act. This ties in with the larger plan for all ration shops by 2019 to verify Aadhaar biometrics at every...

-The Indian Express They are the largest constituency in UP. Yet, all parties have overlooked their issues Next month, Uttar Pradesh (UP) will have a new popular government, hopefully with a clear mandate. If UP was a country, with a population reportedly of more than 214 million in 2015 (as per UN population projections), it would have been the fifth most populous country in the world after China, India, US and Indonesia....

-The Hindu Business Line Chennai: National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS), a national insurance scheme that will be effective from April 1, is likely to provide insurance cover to 70 per cent of the population. By this scheme, each family will get health cover up to ?1 lakh as opposed to ?30,000 under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), the current health insurance scheme. An additional ?30,000 will be provided for senior citizens...