-Firstpost.com There is nothing to prevent the government from making Aadhaar mandatory for Ayushman Bharat. Even as the Courts reopened and news on the Aadhaar verdict is awaited, a Union health ministry notification issued on 4 July has confirmed that Aadhaar will be mandatory for the ‘Ayushman Bharat’ national health insurance scheme. While details of the scheme were out in June, the new notification also sets a deadline for enrolment for those...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Potholes took a deadly toll in 2017, claiming almost 10 lives daily with annual fatalities in the country adding up to 3,597 — a more than 50% rise over the toll for 2016. Maharashtra recorded a doubling of deaths at 726 year on year — disheartening evidence that road safety remains a casualty in India. The magnitude of the problem can be understood from the fact that...

-The Indian Express Many BJP-ruled States deny children a food choice that could address malnutrition Two of every five Indian children are stunted. Eggs are nutrition-dense superfoods packed with proteins and essential vitamins. Washington University researchers, for example, have demonstrated with a randomized control trial that feeding infants eggs daily decreased stunted growth by almost half and underweight by three-quarters. Berkeley researchers have also validated that healthy school meals even improve test...

-The Indian Express After the market rates crashed to Rs 1-2 per kg, only 565 tomato growers across Haryana received the average price difference payment of Rs 2,136. Kurukshatra: Jasbir Saini shows a message on his iBall mobile phone displaying an amount of Rs 296 credited to his bank account. That’s what the 47-year-old has received as “differential price” on the distress sale of his tomato crop under the Haryana government’s Bhavantar...

-The Indian Express NREGA is a demand-driven programme and if the demand vanishes because wages are low and uncertain, nothing will be able to save it. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is going through a deep crisis of delayed and failed wage payments. The problem is not new, but it is more serious than ever and threatens to undermine the entire programme. The crisis has at least four manifestations: Delayed payments,...