In the age of social media, various sections of the Indian polity and civil society have reacted publicly in diverse voices, following the presentation of the Union Budget 2016-17 by Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley. An assessment of the Union Budget 2016-17 has been done in the following paragraphs by the Inclusive Media for Change team, based on a number of media reports, Government documents (including the Budget documents), and reports...

-TheWire.in When the data tells us insurance-based health schemes have not reduced out-of-pocket expenditure for the poor, Jaitley’s budgetary focus should have been on boosting public provision of health care. Despite sustained economic growth for over two decades, improvements in health indicators in India have not kept pace. By 2015, India was able to meet only four out of the ten health targets set under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for that...

-The Times of India Samarin Bai, a 50-year-old Baiga tribal woman from Mahamai village lives in the dense Achanakmar forests of Bilaspur district, Chhattisgarh. A few days back, she decided to see a doctor for the big lump that had developed at the base of her neck and various other problems. Although there is a government sub-centre 6kmsix kilometers away, she knew that there was only one auxiliary nurse cum midwife...

-Economic and Political Weekly A survey to identify who the poor are and how many are actually poor is necessary if programmes and benefits targeted at the needy are to reach them. The Socio Economic Caste Census, of which partial results have been published, was intended to do this. Yet, even a cursory look at the figures indicates that they call for a willing suspension of disbelief. N C Saxena (naresh.saxena@gmail.com) was...

-The Hindu Business Line India’s expenditure on health is just a little over 1% of its income Health care in India seems to be entangled in a vicious cycle of low public investment and poor health outcomes. Our health achievements are dubious - home to a fifth of the world’s children who die before their fifth birthday and the highest number of mothers who die while giving birth. Poorer neighbours like Bangladesh...