-TheWire.in Despite the fact that India's financial inclusion infrastructure has a complex mix of self-help groups and small PRIvate banks offering credit to the poor, it has failed to deliver during the pandemic. When the pandemic struck, policymakers and prominent economists across the world called for financial infrastructures to be strengthened. They argued this would support the efficient channeling of relief through cash transfers or cheap loans. India was no exception to...

-RuralIndiaOnline.org Poor public infrastructure, unaffordable PRIvate medical care and limited access to the state health insurance scheme are pushing Covid patients and their families into long-term debt in Marathwada  Eight days after testing positive for Covid-19, Ramling Sanap died in the hospital where he was being treated for the infection. But it wasn’t the virus that killed him. A few hours before he died, Ramling, 40, had phoned his wife, Rajubai, from the...

-The Hindu Business Line Hike leads to 5% increase in average monthly household spend, says report Bengaluru: PRIces of daily essentials and groceries in India have risen by up to 40 per cent. Consequently, monthly average household spend on essentials and groceries has gone up by 5 per cent since the APRIl-June quarter of 2020, reveals a report by Ratan Tata-backed retail digitisation start-up SnapBizz. The report highlights that the FMCG PRIce inflation...

-The Hindu The Tamil Nadu government will enact a Right to Services Act, Governor Banwarilal Purohit announced on Monday. In his customary address to the Assembly, Mr. Purohit said the Act will streamline the delivery of various public services by government agencies. The Governor said providing a clean administration was the top PRIority of the government, and the Lok Ayukta would be revitalised and empowered to deal with complaints against public authorities, including...

-The Hindu In seeking to pursue conflicting objectives, the policy architecture is complex and difficult to implement Contrary to popular perception, public policies are made without full knowledge or facts. More often than not, they embody assumptions arising from experience, an understanding of history, and present conditions. Considering the vast sea of unknowns surrounding COVID-19, it would be understandable to place a greater reliance on historical experience. Instead, India’s vaccine policy appears...