-Economic and Political Weekly The states now have an opportunity to set their own priorities in the social sector. In the constitutional scheme of things, it is the states rather than the centre which bear the larger responsibility for social sector spending. Indeed, the states already account for as much as 80% of total outlays in the area. But central government intervention in the form of establishment of and funding for certain...
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These radio stations are voices for change in rural India -Bhanu Priya Vyas
-TheWeekendLeader.com/ Women's Feature Service Radha Shukla, 43, can't really remember the last time she took a holiday. "It's been so long since I have celebrated a festival with my family or even taken leave. But I don't mind it; my work is important," she says emphatically. To Shanta Koshti, 50, the years she spent as a poorly-paid ‘beedi' worker seem like another lifetime. "At present, my entire focus is on motivating people...
More »Free drugs plan gets a quiet burial -Rema Nagarajan
-The Times of India It was in 2012 that the Centre first promised to provide free drugs in public health facilities. The first budgetary provision was made in 2013. Last year, the promise was crystallized to providing 348 essential drugs free. This was later whittled down to just 50 drugs. And now, the entire idea of a central scheme for free drug distribution has been given a quiet burial. Joint secretary (policy)...
More »Budget in search of hope -Ashok Sekhar Ganguly
-The Telegraph The 2015-16 budget was presented to the Lok Sabha by the finance minister on February 28, 2015. The first half of the 2015 budget session of both Houses of Parliament has just ended. The highlight was the passing of a number of bills and the budget debate. The debate on the budget in the Rajya Sabha was a long one, lasting over 10 hours. Several speakers participated, drawn from...
More »Public funds to push neoliberal agenda -CP Chandrasekhar
-Frontline.in The Modi government has apparently realised that the private sector is not up to the task of driving growth. It hopes to fund its neoliberal dream of India becoming the fastest-growing emerging market through a combination of off-Budget borrowing and drastic expenditure reduction in key social sectors. IT will soon be a year since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office at the Centre....
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