-The Tribune The annual cost to the exchequer is estimated at Rs 2 lakh crore New Delhi: In a major decision, the union government has decided to provide free ration to 81.35 crore poor people under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for one year. Minister of Consumers Affairs, Food and Public distribution Piyush Goyal said the beneficiaries, who were getting food grains at highly subsidised rates under the Act would get free...

-Hindustan Times Virologist Dr Gagandeep Kang said India does not need restrictions but precautions but China will see a lot of infections like that of India's second wave. Virologist Dr Gagandeep Kang on Friday broke down the current Covid situation in India in comparison with China and said India is doing fine and won't require travel restrictions but China will see 'lots and lots of infections', similar to what India witnessed during...

-Scroll.in The government wants to reduce its dependence on imported crude oil by producing more ethanol-blended petrol. While India is making a push for ethanol-blended petrol, by incentivising sugarcane-derived ethanol, concerns remain about the water-guzzling nature of the sugarcane and fair remuneration for farmers. On November 2, the Centre, as part of its Ethanol Blending Programme, approved a higher price for ethanol that is derived from different sugarcane-based raw materials. This was done...

-The Hindu With the Rajya Sabha Standing Committee on Health expressing concern over the high cost of cancer treatment, the Government invoking Section 100 of the Patents Act is a way forward The subject of the spiralling costs of cancer medicines and their implications that have frequently been highlighted the world over were dwelled on in a recent report (“Cancer Care Plan and Management”) by the Rajya Sabha’s Standing Committee on Health....

-The Hindu Business Line The National Food Security Act could adopt standardised criteria to identify beneficiaries across States/UTs India’s development report cards have long been plagued by high incidence of malnutrition, making it an often-cited example of the nation’s growth conundrum. With the country being home to more than one-third of undernourished children, it is evident that the problem underlines the need for a targeted and multi-sectoral approach, with the benefits of...