-TheWire.in Why has India chosen the path of expanding medical insurance instead of a more comprehensive approach to health? The concern with rising inequities in access to medical care, rising out-of-pocket expenditures and unmet treatment needs have been addressed with yet another targeted medical insurance scheme for poor households. The idea of a targeted medical insurance is not new. Several southern states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka had introduced such schemes many...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Political Messaging Masks Budget 2018's Actual Delivery in the Social Sector -Yamini Aiyar and Avani Kapur
-TheWire.in Even as schemes have received minimal allocations, this budget signals an important shift in the political narrative. Gone is the focus on jobs, skills, aspirations and empowerment. Arun Jaitley had a difficult choice to make this budget. Maintain fiscal prudence or respond to growing demands for public expenditure in light of growing rural distress and at the same time keeping an eye on 2019. He did this today with great panache....
More »Budget 2018: Kiska Saath, Kiska Vikas? -N Paul Divakar
-TheWire.in The Dalit and Adivasi community’s analysis of the budget shows gross under allocation – only 50.7% has been allocated towards targeted schemes for SCs and 51.24% for STs. On the 26th January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality and in the social and economic life we will have inequality. In politics we will recognize the principle of one man one...
More »Union budget shows "no concern" for hunger, malnutrition, rural distress, reduces maternal benefit allocation
-Counterview.net Calling the 2018-19 Union budget "highly disappointing", the top advocacy group, Right to Food Campaign (RFC), in a comprehensive analysis, has said, it has "miserably failed to respond to the present situation of rural distress and mass unemployment", adding, "Despite a spate of starvation deaths in different parts of the country, the budget makes no mention of hunger or malnutrition." Thus, RFC says, "There was some hope that the budget would...
More »Budget 2018: Health gets a super pill, but where's the money for it?
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Healthcare emerged as the buzzword of the 2018-19 Budget, mainly due to the announcement of the Rs 5-lakh healthcare insurance each for 10 crore families, but the sector didn't get mega allocations. For one, the total budget of the health ministry stands at Rs 56,226 crore — an increase of 12% over the previous year. The National Health Policy 2017 indicated that health expenditure would increase...
More »