-Livemint.com What’s essential for the unique identification number to continue is a strong law. But what should it look like? A key thrust of the 2012 writ petition filed in the Aadhaar case (Puttaswamy versus Union of India) was that the executive action in implementing Aadhaar was unconstitutional in the absence of a law. Later developments in the case, including the government’s argument that there is no fundamental right to privacy, and...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Public health activists have asked the Union health ministry to reject a demand from an association of Indian doctors to exempt hospitals and clinics with accreditation from proposed rules to regulate the costs of services charged to patients. The Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA, or People's Health Movement) has opposed a demand from the Indian Medical Association to the health ministry seeking exemption for accredited hospitals from the Clinical...

-The Indian Express TISS report maps pitfalls in Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayee Arogya Yojana Mumbai: OVER three-fifths or 63 per cent beneficiaries of the state government’s Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayee Arogya Yojana (RGJAY) made out-of-pocket (OOP) payments for services after admission to hospitals, and a significantly higher proportion of patients from Below Poverty Line (BPL) families (88.23 per cent) reported paying for diagnostics, medications, or consumables, according to a report by the Tata...

-Economic and Political Weekly Despite favourable policy measures, growth of financial Institutions and public interventions in the marketing of agricultural produce, the structure of Punjab's agricultural economy makes farmers dependent on commission agents. These agents trap the farmers in a vicious circle of indebtedness. Based on a field survey, this study locates the commission agent system in Punjab's agriculture set-up and recommends reframing it in order to extricate farmers from the...

-PTI NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary panel on agriculture has sought views from stakeholders and experts on the need to focus on comprehensive farm research and study the impact of climate change to ensure food security in the country.  The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture, chaired by Madhubani MP Hukm Deo Narayan Yadav, is examining the subject 'Comprehensive agriculture research-based on geographical condition and impact of climate changes to ensure food security in...