-Frontine The finalised chapter on health in the 12th Plan document envisages a large role for the private sector in health care. A chapter on health prepared for the draft 12th Five Year Plan Document in July received a lot of criticism for its limited understanding of universal health care and its diluted commitment to increase public expenditure on health. If the revised version is any indication, there has not been...

-The Times of India The Planning Commission has bowed to in-house protests that government was using shortcuts to meet the targeted budget expenditure for dalits and tribals, amending the 12th plan document to insert a pledge to reform the annual spend on these communities. The commission has said it will beef up Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan that mandate the government to spend exclusively on SCs and STs in proportion to...

-The Hindu A mix of social constraints and dearth of employment opportunities has kept women out of the labour market, leading to a huge opportunity cost to the nation Women in India face enormous challenges for their participation in the economy — in a way that mirrors the many injustices they suffer in the society at large. The labour participation rate of women — that is, the number of women in the...

-Economic and Political Weekly We support cash transfers such as old-age pensions, widow pensions, maternity entitlements and scholarships. However, we oppose the government’s plan for accelerated mass conversion of welfare schemes to Unique Identification Authority (UID)-driven cash transfers. This plan could cause havoc and massive social exclusion. We demand the following: (1) No replacement of food with cash under the public distribution system (PDS). (2) Immediate enactment of a comprehensive National Food Security...

-The Indian Express Increasing provident fund contributions within a faulty system is not the answer The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is moving towards increasing the mandatory contributions made towards an individual’s provident fund (PF). Contributions to the PF are 24 per cent of basic wages. Earlier, employers would exclude allowances such as the housing allowance (HRA) to make the basic wage look smaller, and pay lower amounts. If the EPFO has...