-The Hindu ‘Healthcare as an optional public service’ would ensure the legal right to receive free, Quality care in a public institution The lingering COVID-19 crisis is a good time to revive an issue that is, oddly, slow to come to life in India — universal health care (UHC). Meanwhile, UHC has become a well-accepted objective of public policy around the world. It has even been largely realised in many countries, not...

On Janaushadhi Diwas this year (i.e., March 7th, 2022), Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi stated that the poor and the middle-class benefited from the 'Jan Aushadhi Kendras' that were set up to provide generic drugs at affordable prices. He said that the poor and the middle class saved around Rs.13,000 crore through these stores during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of COVID 19 crisis, the 'Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India'...

-The Hindu The increase in temperature would reduce the Quality of harvested wheat since it thrives in cold weather Unusual warm weather conditions, accompanied by a prolonged dry spell in Punjab and Haryana have left farmers and experts anxious, who fear that prevailing climate conditions would not just harm the Quality of the ready to harvest wheat crop, but could also delay and increase the cost of cultivation for sowing cotton, the...

-Deccan Herald Improving Workforce Participation Unemployment at 7.9%! Many may wonder why so much is made of a ratio that has been hovering between 6% and 8% since 2017. In India, when 7% lose their jobs, it means more than 40 million are without work. In December 2021, the CMIE informed us that 53 million Indians were unemployed. Assuming that each individual supports at least four other dependents in the household, it...

-The Hindu The existing approach of dealing with surface water and groundwater independently has severe limitations The theme of this year’s World Water Day (March 22) was ‘Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible’. The primary focus is to draw attention to the role of groundwater in water and sanitation systems, agriculture, industry, ecosystems, and climate change adaptation. Groundwater helps reduce the risk of temporary water shortage and caters to the needs of arid...