-The Indian Express Push for cash transfers tacitly asks citizens to fend for themselves The implementation of cash transfers by a state would necessarily entail: one, the identification of beneficiaries on the basis of predefined eligibility parameters; and two, calculating the exact amount of money, equivalent to the monetary value of the subsidy that beneficiaries were supposed to get, and transferring it into their bank accounts — with the intention that they...

-Hindustan Times New Delhi: Taking note of the issues raised in HT’s Sick Hospitals investigation, Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Friday promised to bring primary healthcare to the doorstep of every Delhiite with neighbourhood clinics, diagnostic labs and free ambulance services. “Currently, Delhi hospitals score two on (a scale of) 10,” admitted Jain. “Give me two years. They will at least score a six on 10. HT should do a follow-up...

-Hindustan Times New Delhi: Delhi has the highest density of hospitals in the country and more beds available for patients than the national average but it is impossible to get treatment in government-run hospitals when needed. The city’s rising population and the many thousands who come from other states seeking treatment have virtually put government hospitals, which offer cheaper care, out of reach for most people. Delhi has 976 registered hospitals and clinics...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Delhi remains behind states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu in key health indicators, such as the infant mortality rate (IMR). The Economic Survey report 2014-15 shows that 22 of every 1,000 children born in the city in 2013 (the latest available data) died within a year of birth. The number of children dying within 29 days of birth—also called neonatal mortality rate (NMR)— stood at 15...

-Hindustan Times A dominant feature of the first year of Narendra Modi's leadership is the quiet dismantling of India's imperfectly realised framework of welfare and rights, covertly, by stealth.   A declared pro-corporate agenda, such as the land acquisition ordinance, proved politically messy and costly. Therefore, the government resorted instead for an enfeebling of the welfare architecture of the country through a combination of fiscal withdrawals, ignoring even legally mandated obligations.   But this attracted...