-Newsclick.in The high healthcare costs were expected to be addressed through the introduction of health insurance by the Union Government, but it covers less than 30% of hospital charges leaving a heavy financial burden on the poor. Health outcomes have remained grossly unequal, with India's dalits and adivasis living shorter lives of poorer quality, as per a recent paper published by Oxfam India. Private infrastructure now accounts for nearly 62% of India's...

-Financial Express Dataset and methodological weaknesses cast doubt on recent poverty estimates that claim drastic reduction Bhalla, Bhasin and Virmani in a working paper (IMF), claimed India’s poverty, per a $1.9 per person per day poverty line (at PPP), was 0.9% of the population in 2020. Thanks to Government transfer of free rations of 5 kg per person month, it fell to 0.8% (from 0.9% in 2019). Roy and de Velt, for...

-Hindustan Times In view of the shortage of coal, a dominant fuel used to generate electricity in the country, the Government halted hundreds of passenger trains. Meanwhile, state-run Coal India ramped up coal production by 27.2% in April. Several states across the country reeled under long power cuts, as hotter-than-normal temperatures pushed the electricity demand, triggering a major power crisis. According to a report by Reuters, electricity supply fell short of demand...

-CivilSocietyOnline.com WHEN the Sri Lankan economy collapsed with a sigh recently, prominently sticking out of the debris was a failed attempt to take the island nation into full-scale organic agricultural production. The Rajapaksa Government had virtually overnight ordered a switch to organic agriculture to save foreign exchange on the import of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. But going organic, instead of being the solution, became a bigger problem with food crops failing and the...

-The Telegraph Advocate Prashant Bhushan calls for urgent hearing, but no firm assurance from CJI Ramana The NGO Common Cause and veteran journalist and former Union minister Arun Shourie on Thursday joined the chorus in the Supreme Court for striking down as unconstitutional the sedition law, alleging its increasing misuse by Governments against citizens. The apex court has already listed for hearing on May 5 and 6 a bunch of similar petitions challenging...