-The Hindu More than half the defence budget is allocated for pensions every year while less than 5% is allocated for research and development One key reason for the Agnipath scheme, which aims to recruit defence personnel in short-term contracts, could be to reduce increasing pension payments in the Army, Navy, and Air Force. More than half the defence budget is allocated for pensions every year while less than 5% is allocated...

-The Telegraph Research considers expenses arising out of visits to hospitals, clinics and doctors’ private chambers and not those from home visits by doctors New Delhi: Medicines account for the largest share of healthcare expenditure arising out of hospital visits by Indian households, whether seeking outpatient or inpatient services, but health-related non-medical expenses on travel or accommodation too pose big financial burdens, new research has indicated. The study, a comprehensive dissection of out-of-pocket...

-Newsclick.in Inadequate infrastructure and insufficient health personnel emerged as the leading problem keeping women from accessing medical care. As many as 60% of women in the country face trouble accessing healthcare for themselves, the findings of the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey(NFHS) have revealed. The complete report— which had surveyed women between the ages of 15-49 years about potential problems in obtaining medical treatment for themselves when they are...

-The Tribune The prices of essential food items have increased by 50% in seven years, whereas the real wage rate has risen by 22%. These figures show that inflation has outsmarted the real income of the poor, making their lives miserable as the food basket constitutes a substantial proportion of the total expenditure on the poor. The net effect is that the poor earn less and take loans to maintain the...

-Newsclick.in The high healthcare costs were expected to be addressed through the introduction of health insurance by the Union government, but it covers less than 30% of hospital charges leaving a heavy financial burden on the poor. Health outcomes have remained grossly unequal, with India's dalits and adivasis living shorter lives of poorer quality, as per a recent paper published by Oxfam India. Private infrastructure now accounts for nearly 62% of India's...