-The Times of India It was in 2012 that the Centre first promised to provide free drugs in public health facilities. The first budgetary provision was made in 2013. Last year, the promise was crystallized to providing 348 essential drugs free. This was later whittled down to just 50 drugs. And now, the entire idea of a central scheme for free drug distribution has been given a quiet burial. Joint secretary (policy)...

-Business Standard Sector players await government's decision on future of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana The government-sponsored Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) is set to undergo a overhaul with a proposal to have only public general insurers manage the scheme through a trust-like structure. Sources said the bids that would have been considered for new contracts have been left unopened as the stakeholders are awaiting the government's decision on its future progress. A senior public...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today used his monthly radio broadcast to reach out to farmers and defend the controversial land acquisition bill, asking them not to be misled by the Opposition's "lies". He denied that his government's intended amendments to the UPA-steered 2013 land law favoured corporate houses and would deprive farmers even of the right to move court against a takeover of their land. Modi's speech launched the...

-The Indian Express There seems to be emerging a fair consensus across the political spectrum that it is not prudent to tamper with the ongoing process of land market reform that began a decade ago. The earlier "revenue laws" that governed the registration of titles came from a century-old colonial legislation. The imperial government of India kept almost complete control over land title and use - in order to dispense...

-The Indian Express Given indicators that the government is considering moving to cash transfers and replacing the public distribution system (PDS), and the release of the Shanta Kumar Committee report, the debate on how best to provide food security has been rekindled. The report has a careful analysis of the sources of inefficiency at various stages of the procurement, storage and distribution system. Especially heartening is the admission that the Food...