Governments in India — Centre and states — spend around one per cent of the country's GDP on health. Only five countries — Burundi, Myanmar, Pakistan , Sudan and Cambodia — have a lower figure than this. But private spending on the crucial sector is 4.2 per cent of GDP, among the top 20 countries in the world. Within this private spend, employers pay for about 9 per cent and...
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Govt, UNDP aim to make job scheme effective by Ruhi Tewari
The government is collaborating with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to ensure that India’s flagship welfare programme leads to a tangible improvement in the human development index among the scheme’s beneficiaries. UNDP and the Union government have launched a pilot project aimed at making the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) more efficient and effective by coordinating it with other development programmes. “The idea is to leverage this massive...
More »‘Disclosure of minister’s Assets is PMO’s call’
The executive on Monday lost another excuse to prevent disclosure of ministers' Assets after the Lok Sabha Secretariat rejected a request from the Prime Minister's Office seeking the legislature's permission. The LS secretariat declined the request saying the RTI Act does not have any provision for giving such "clearances''. This means the PMO has to take a call on whether details of ministers' wealth should be disclosed or not. Incidentally,...
More »Rich states lag in use of MP funds by Mahendra Kumar Singh
Delhi MPs have failed to make optimum use of funds under MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme, clocking up a utilisation rate of just 86.93%, well below the national average of 90.32%. According to a report of the ministry of statistics and programme implementation, Delhi was placed among laggard states when it came to utilisation of funds till July this year. Since the MPLAD scheme was launched in 1993, total...
More »Centre to use GIS to monitor rural job scheme
The Centre will now monitor the implementation of NREGA through Geographical Information System (GIS). The Ministry of Rural Development has constituted an expert group for developing a “strategic framework” with respect to the use of GIS under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, a Ministry official said on Thursday. The 16-member expert group will be headed by Secretary in the Rural Development Ministry, BK Sinha. A representative from the Indian Space...
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