-The Economic Times Is publicly funded health insurance pushing poor households to actually spend more on hospitalisation? A study conducted by three public health experts of the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) suggests that this could be happening. The study found that a larger proportion of the poorest households are having to make "catastrophic spending" (defined as more than 10% of household expenditure) on hospitalisation and that the amount spent by...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government proposes to end exemptions on stock limits of pulses for exporters, food processors and large retailers with multiple outlets, which is being seen as a desperate attempt to deal with the spiraling prices. Sources said it was discussed at a meeting chaired by the cabinet secretary on Friday in the presence of officials of other departments. The cabinet secretariat has asked the consumer affairs...

-IPSNews.net UNITED NATIONS: When the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Economics to Professor Angus Deaton of Princeton University, the accolade had a significant relevance to the United Nations. The Academy bestowed the honour on the British-born Deaton, 69, primarily for his analysis of consumption, poverty and welfare.   Deaton’s research reflects some of the socio-economic issues on the U.N. agenda, including poverty alleviation, economic inequalities, consumption patterns, household...

-The Economic Times PUNE: The seemingly inexorable rise in the price of dal was unabated on Thursday with some experts predicting that tur, urad and moong—staples of Indian households—could remain beyond the reach of consumers through Diwali and Christmas.  With wholesale prices having risen by about 18% in a week and crossing the Rs 190/kg mark, end consumers may have to pay as much as Rs 200/kg for dal in a few...

-DNA State policies favouring certain food crops have rendered pulses forbiddingly expensive and the common man is feeling the pinch The huge spurt in dal prices, touching Rs180 per kilogram and even Rs200 in some cities, has come as a dampener to the festive season, and raised questions about the policies of the government. For some years now, India has been resorting to huge imports of pulses to meet domestic demand...