The total expenditure on central schemes for the poor and on the major subsidies exceeds the states' share of central taxes. These schemes are chronic bad performers due to a culture of immunity in public administration and weakened local governments. Arguing that the poor should be trusted to use these resources better than the state, a radical redirection with substantial direct transfers to individuals and complementary decentralisation to local governments...

-The Telegraph A children’s vaccine against a stomach infection has triggered controversy with some doctors claiming there is not enough data to show it is effective in India and accusing a leading drug company of using a misleading advertisement to promote the vaccine. GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (GSK) has stopped the advertisement for the vaccine intended to protect children from potentially life-threatening rotavirus infections after the advertising industry’s self-regulating body upheld a doctor’s complaint...

-Outlook Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh today said public health system in the country had "collapsed", noting that even poorer countries like Bangladesh and Kenya have superior health indicators. In a candid assessment of the country's health sector, Ramesh also said 70 per cent of the health expenditure is met from private sources, making it a "unique" country. This was the "single most important" reason for indebtedness in rural areas, he...

-The Hindustan Times Arvind Kejriwal has resorted to publicly naming and shaming everyone from politicians to corporates, Anna Hazare has reignited the Jan Lokpal debates and scandals are being exposed with increasing frequency. The anti-corruption movement has gathered momentum in the last twelve months, and presumably, corrupt officials are running for shelter. Yet, according to a Hindustan Times survey, 41.2% of respondents feel that government officials are more prone to take a...

-Live Mint The prime source of financing will be from general taxation or public exchequer, says Planning Commission Government-run hospitals may stop charging for primary services such as investigative tests as India attempts to provide universal health coverage to all its citizens. “No fee of any kind would be levied on primary healthcare services with the prime source of financing being from general taxation/public exchequer,” the Planning Commission says in its latest health...