The government has increased the income ceiling a month a household for housing loans from the existing Rs. 3,300 to Rs. 5,000 for the economically weaker sections (EWS) category and from Rs. 3,301 — Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 5,001 — Rs. 10,000 for the Lower Income Groups (LIG). The revised ceilings will be applicable for definition of beneficiaries under government schemes for housing including the Interest Subsidy for Housing the Urban...
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Property rights for future migrants by Sanjeev Sanyal
In his recent Budget speech, the finance minister reiterated the government’s plans to make India “slum-free” within five years. This mantra is now being chanted in many urban-related conferences. However, this raises a number of questions. What does a “slum-free” India really mean? Is the removal of slums really desirable? Most importantly, what needs to be done to improve the lives of the millions of Urban poor? In this article,...
More »Rural health: to tinker or transform? by KS Jacob
The poor health indices and health care in rural India have always been met with lofty ideals sans action; they demand urgent and radical solutions. The recent proposal to introduce a new medical course, Bachelor of Rural Health Care, has been met with resistance from many sections of the medical fraternity. Its opponents argue that it will result in second-class health care for rural India and increase the rural-urban divide....
More »In Poor Shape
The cost of health care is known to push millions into poverty every year, a fact from which India is not exempt. In fact, rural Indians spend nearly 27 per cent of their income on health care. Given that the Indian state spends only 0.9 per cent of its GDP on health one of the lowest allocations in the world it is not surprising that a large part of the...
More »Danger of inflation by CP Chandrasekhar
WELL before Budget 2010-11 was presented, inflation had emerged as the principal economic problem in the country. With food-price inflation running at close to 20 per cent, even the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre had been forced to recognise it as a problem that deserved as much attention as the objective of achieving a 9 or 10 per cent rate of growth, if not more. In fact,...
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