-The Hindu Business Line Better healthcare infrastructure, well-trained professionals, informed citizens and nutritious food score over index-induced competition The NITI Aayog’s report, Healthy States, Progressive India, made public earlier this month tells us much of what we already know: that overall, Kerala has the best set of indicators comparable with the developed world and Uttar Pradesh, the worst. That the BIMARU States are at the bottom of the pile along with Odisha....

-The Hindu Business Line Bankers call for a coordinated approach to deal with the stressed loans issue New Delhi: The RBI’s revised framework for stressed loans may prove to be disastrous and seems ill timed for an economy that is just recovering from twin policy blows of demonetisation and GST implementation. Though there are long-term benefits of administering such a bitter pill, the short-term risks are significant, say bankers. “This (revised NPA framework) is...

-The Hindu Inducting Licentiate Medical Practitioners may be the solution to the chronic shortage of doctors in rural areas Nearly 600 million people in India, mostly in the rural areas, have little or no access to health care. A widespread disregard for norms, a perpetual failure to reach targets, and an air of utter helplessness are what mark the state of rural health care today. One can add to this another...

-The Indian Express The overall employment in the eight sectors had seen an addition of 77,000 workers in April-June 2016 and an increase of 1.85 lakh workers in January-March 2017. Manufacturing sector recorded a loss of 87,000 jobs in April-June 2017 as against a decline of 12,000 jobs in the corresponding period in the previous year, the sixth round of Quarterly Employment Survey released by Labour Bureau showed. The overall employment in...

-Economic and Political Weekly The government’s initiative to increase farmers’ incomes is welcome as it is central to dealing with the agrarian crisis in India. Various mechanisms for increasing farmers’ incomes from the perspective of small farmers and farm workers are critically examined. The article proposes a focus on high-value crops and rain-fed areas, non-farm occupations, agro-industrialisation, and strengthening and innovating producer and worker institutions in India. It also presents insights...