-The Indian Express The government should not succumb to pressures for removal of trait fee on a technology that has made India the world’s No. 1 cotton producer. During the last cotton season, there were reports of the pink bollworm (PBW) not being effectively controlled, especially in some 700 villages of Maharashtra where the infestation of this insect pest was stated to be high. However, at a review meeting conducted by the...
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Private hospitals making profits of up to 1,737% on drugs, consumables and diagnostics: Study -Rema Nagarajan
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: An analysis of bills from four reputed private hospitals in Delhi and NCR by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has revealed that they are making profits of up to 1,737% on drugs, consumables and diagnostics and that these three accounts for about 46% of a patient’s bill. The analysis, released on Tuesday, noted that “the major beneficiaries of profits in all these cases because of...
More »From ideas to action
-The Hindu Business Line The National Health Protection Scheme is promising but sketchy The National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS), which promises to provide a cover of ?5 lakh each to 10 crore households (50 crore people, or about 40 per cent of the population), marks a big step forward to make secondary and tertiary healthcare affordable to the poor. The initiative is likely to reduce “catastrophic” out-of-pocket expenses, which are estimated to...
More »Another Budget, Another Year of Ignoring Binding Laws on Rights -Nikhil Dey and Aruna Roy
-TheWire.in The making of the Union Budget has been a far too secretive and hidden exercise. Social sector expenditure and allocations related to policy announcements should be matters of open ongoing debate. On December 20, 2017, a group of 60 eminent economists sent an open letter to the finance minister stating: “We are writing to draw your attention to two urgent priorities for the forthcoming budget.” The first was to increase the central...
More »From plate to plough: The MSP smokescreen -Ashok Gulati & Ranjana Roy
-The Indian Express Government’s claim that it has given support prices that are 50 per cent over input costs to farmers is a sleight of hand. Tall talk could increase farmer resentment The finance minister (FM) has made a smart move by announcing in the Union budget speech that the government has already fulfilled its election promise of giving minimum support prices (MSPs) of at least 50 per cent higher than their...
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