-Hindustan Times Instead of denial, a much bolder step would be to increase investments and strengthen delivery in key areas such as health and education, which have inter-generational impacts, and can also go a long way in removing widespread inequality. Last week, three separate global reports related to development were released: the World Bank’s Human Capital Index; the Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide’s 2018 Global Hunger Index; and Oxfam International’s 2018 Commitment...

-The Hindu Budgetary support must be strengthened to make Ayushman Bharat a success Ayushman Bharat has been rolled out as a health protection scheme that will provide guaranteed access to treatment that is free at the point of delivery to about 40% of the population selected on the basis of censused socio-economic indicators. It is the essential first step on the road to universal health coverage, although it has been launched by...

-TheWire.in The Price Deficiency Payment Scheme will likely exclude small and marginal farmers, disincentivise efficient farmers and does not have inadequate registration of farmers. The Narendra Modi government announced three new schemes for farmers under one umbrella scheme named PM-AASHA, aimed at ensuring minimum guarantee prices for the farm produce. These three schemes – Price support scheme (PSS), Pilot of Private Procurement & Stockist Scheme (PPPS) and Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS)...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre has asked the states to consider serving milk, milk products and honey with their school midday meals, explaining this can be a way of using up the country's surplus stocks of these foodstuff. Nutritionists and health activists have welcomed the move but questioned the objective of exhausting surplus milk powder and honey. Some have cited the absence of additional funding as a deterrent to implementation, for...

-ThePrint.in Data shows 99.9% of all electoral bonds bought so far are worth Rs 10 lakh or 1 crore. These bonds do not bear name of the donor. New Delhi: Electoral bonds, brought in to make the system of political funding “more transparent”, seem to have further concentrated donations in the hands of corporates and other high net-worth donors, instead of democratising them. Nearly 100 per cent of the bonds purchased so...