-Down to Earth A high level UN panel on Access to Medicines wants members to make full use of TRIPS flexibilities to protect public health If ever India needed a clear endorsement of its laws on intellectual property rights (IPRs) and their application in meeting public health priorities, it has come from the highest quarters. The report of the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel (HLP) on Access to Medicines has, directly...
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Narendra Modi's crop insurance scheme has few takers -Sayantan Bera
-Livemint.com Only 23.6% of farmers enrolled for the scheme in 2016, against 22.2% in 2015 New Delhi: Despite setting an ambitious target to cover half of all farmers under crop insurance, the first season rollout of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has been tepid. According to the agriculture ministry, during the kharif 2016 season beginning June this year, 32.6 million farmers enrolled under PMFBY. While that is a 6.3% rise in...
More »Demonetisation: In two weeks, 60% rise in total balance in Jan Dhan accounts -Shyamlal Yadav & Jay Mazoomdaar
-The Indian Express While the increase in balance in accounts in public sector banks was 56 per cent, it was 66 per cent in private sector banks. New Delhi: In the two weeks after the Centre’s demonetisation move, the total balance in Jan Dhan accounts increased by nearly 60 per cent, online data updated by the government on Saturday revealed. While the total deposit in Jan Dhan accounts was Rs 45,637 crore...
More »M Govinda Rao, ex-Director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (2003-13), interviewed by S Rajendran (The Hindu)
-The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement demonetising high denomination notes on November 8, 2016, will do little to address the prime objective of flushing out black money but will adversely affect the economy in the short term, especially the informal sector, which is predominant in India, says M. Govinda Rao, a Member of the Fourteenth Finance Commission and Emeritus Professor, National Institute of Public...
More »Bringing PDS out of the abyss -Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri
-Deccan Herald System overhaul: Transparency measures with strong accountability mechanisms can usher in change The National Food Security Act (NFSA) passed in 2013 gives statutory backing to the Public Distribution System (PDS). Up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population is entitled to receive food grain under the Act. Beneficiaries are categorised into priority households, entitled to 5 kg of subsidised grains per person per month, and Antyodaya...
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