-The Hindu Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's announcement of new AIIMS-like institutions, tax sops for those who buy health insurance, and Rs. 33,150 crore allocation has given the health sector little to cheer. Though the draft of the government's new national health policy wants public health expenditure to increase to 2.5 per cent of the GDP, the allocation seems insufficient to meet the government's ambitious universal health assurance mission that includes free...
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Jowar not to be available under PDS: Minister -Firoz Rozindar
-The Hindu Vijayapura (Karnataka): The desire of the people of North Karnataka to have Jowar under Public Distribution System (PDS) is not going to be met this year too owing to acute shortage of Jowar in the market. "In all likelihood, the people of NK will not get their staple diet in their monthly ration because of the unavailability of adequate quantity of Jowar for procurement", said Dinesh Gundurao, the Minister for...
More »That ’70s show: ‘Levy rice’ to end in October -Sandip Das
-The Financial Express The government has decided to dispense with "levy rice", a mandatory system under which rice millers also undertake rice procurement for the public distribution system by buying paddy directly from the farmers, effective the next marketing season starting October. The system, introduced way back in 1978, is set to be withdrawn as the government felt that a lack of effective supervision often allowed the millers to avoid paying minimum...
More »Goa's Mining Logjam -Pamela D’Mello
-Economic and Political Weekly The stage is all set for the resumption of iron ore mining in Goa after it was suspended in the state in 2012, to curb its indiscriminate and illegal mining. The Goa government's decision to renew the mining leases comes at a time when the economics of iron ore mining have changed and environmental concerns have gained more prominence. Pamela D'Mello (dmello.pamela@gmail.com) is a Goa-based journalist. The state government...
More »All Central schemes to be under cash transfer scheme from April -Chetan Chauhan
-Hindustan Times The government's fiscal management plan in the budget could see a roadmap on extending the controversial cash transfer schemes from just entitlements to subsidies, a move that could add fuel to the already surcharged atmosphere over the land acquisition bill. The finance ministry has issued instructions to bring all Central schemes having a financial component under the direct benefit transfer (DBT) from April, apparently to plug leakages and to keep...
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