-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)...
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In true colours -Sudhir Kumar Panwar
-Frontline The BJP-led NDA government has, in the two Budgets it has presented so far, revealed itself to be very different from the pro-farmer image that its leading election campaigner and now Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, projected. THE Bharatiya Janata Party's manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha election states: "Agriculture is the engine of India's economic growth and the largest employer, and BJP commits highest priority to agriculture growth, increases in...
More »Budget in search of hope -Ashok Sekhar Ganguly
-The Telegraph The 2015-16 budget was presented to the Lok Sabha by the finance minister on February 28, 2015. The first half of the 2015 budget session of both Houses of Parliament has just ended. The highlight was the passing of a number of bills and the budget debate. The debate on the budget in the Rajya Sabha was a long one, lasting over 10 hours. Several speakers participated, drawn from...
More »Aayog follows Gujarat on child tracker -Ananya Sengupta
-The Telegraph New Delhi: The government's new policy think-tank is set to launch its social sector plans with a scheme for women and children, tracking an expectant mother's first visit to a doctor till the tiny form that has stirred to life inside her completes primary school. Officials said the Niti Aayog, which recently replaced the Planning Commission, had decided on the Aadhaar-based project when it met for the first time this...
More »NDA seeks framework to revive agriculture -Sayantan Bera
-Livemint.com A national task force on agriculture will recommend ways to reinvigorate agriculture, strategies for reforms New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has formed a task force to suggest ways to boost agriculture, demonstrating its commitment to farmers in a year when rural incomes have been hit by freak weather and a slump in the prices of key crops. The task force, under the aegis of NITI Aayog, the successor...
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