On Janaushadhi Diwas this year (i.e., March 7th, 2022), Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi stated that the poor and the middle-class benefited from the 'Jan Aushadhi Kendras' that were set up to provide generic drugs at affordable prices. He said that the poor and the middle class saved around Rs.13,000 crore through these stores during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of COVID 19 crisis, the 'Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India'...

-ThePrint.in V. Anantha Nageswaran says he is surprised by Fed's hawkishness in hiking rates. With US inflation hitting 4-decade high in February, Fed raised rates in March and plans more hikes. New Delhi: Expectations of the United States Federal Reserve hiking rates aggressively in 2022-23 to contain inflation, and volatility in global crude oil prices as result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, are two strong headwinds confronting the Indian economy in...

-The Telegraph Targeted policy interventions and awareness programmes needed to prevent suicide Suicide is an unfathomable tragedy. A recent  analysis of data from 113 countries shows that people in 89 nations are more likely to die of suicide than murder. Several countries in Asia have a significantly higher suicide rate than murder — the figures are 56.8 times in Japan, 33.7 times in South Korea and 31.4 times in Singapore. Among the...

-The Hindu Post-COVID learning for children should be accelerated, says World Bank’s Global Director for Education Jaime Saavedra. World Bank’s Global Director for Education Jaime Saavedra was in India last week to meet Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and governments of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh to discuss concerns over learning losses for children due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for concerted efforts to bridge these gaps. In a sit-down interview...

-TelanganaToday.com India’s food subsidy programmes have the capacity to respond to increased demand. Thoughtful adjustment would reap large-scale benefits. Covid-19 lockdowns aggravated food deprivation in India. The pandemic also revealed opportunities to expand the country’s food subsidy programmes. India’s Public Distribution System (PDS) offers subsidised foodgrains to eligible households. Public pressure during Covid-19 lockdowns led to a brief expansion in the number of beneficiaries in States such as Delhi. Though temporary, the expansion...