-Live Mint Critics say inadequate funding is also a reflection of the govt abdicating its responsibility in providing healthcare facilities The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s ‘health for all’ slogan could remain just that as the addition in the budget for health in the next financial year is Rs.7,000 crore, which experts said falls far short of the amount needed to start making universal health coverage (UHC) a reality. Some critics say...

Introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2011, the UPA government’s Food Security Bill is finally going to be discussed in the current (Budget) Session of Parliament. The proposed legislation is now slated to see many additional amendments from the government, following criticism from the States, NGOs and diverse stake-holders working on access to food and child health. Attempt here is to summarise in a Q & A format the...

-Live Mint Move may help the Congress renew its appeal to a traditional constituency; activists raise objections In yet another move that the ruling Congress Party hopes will help renew its appeal to a traditional constituency, the ministry of rural development has indicated it is likely to accept the recommendations of a panel that has suggested the universalization of pensions. The task force headed by Planning Commission member Mihir Shah was set up...

-The Business Standard Team set up after movement began under Aruna roy, activist Baba Adhav 2 years ago demanding universal pension as a right for all A task force set up by the Government to look into reforms in pension for the unorganised sector has recommended universal pension for those below the poverty line, and a target of covering them in the next five years. It also recommended a slight increase in pensions...

-Economic and Political Weekly Before I take issue with some of the points made in the NIPFP response to this comment, it may be useful to recapitulate a few points on which there appears to be agreement: (1) Aadhaar-integration can resolve only certain types of leakages, for which reliable data is unavailable; this was not adequately accounted for in the cost-benefit exercise; (2) the NIPFP study has a fragile basis (in...