-The Hindu Business Line The proposed investment in Healthcare is inadequate Budget 2015 was catastrophic for Health, as investments tanked to a historic low. Against that backdrop, when the Finance Minister talks about measures to tackle catastrophic Health events, there’s bound to be some scepticism.     And that deepens on hearing the plan for a ₹ 1 lakh insurance to address catastrophes. Yes, impoverishment due to out-of-pocket expenditure on Health is a major...

-The Hindu Business Line It is not just about making matters easier for corporates. Distressed farmers can access relief under pressing circumstances The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) aims at improving the failing credit market situation in the country. A Healthy credit market functions well where the debtor and the creditor have faith that their interests are recognised and protected under law. Failure to pay debt is a common occurrence but surprisingly, the...

-Business Standard Cess, surcharges come in handy New Delhi: Looking to leave its political imprint over spending in rural India, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has budgeted for a massive 31 per cent hike in its share of spending on nine big-ticket centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) in 2016-17 over last year's budgetary allocation. Last year's Budget mantra of 'cooperative federalism' has been sidestepped to favour political exigencies. To fund these schemes, which...

-The Indian Express Never before has India’s agricultural science community been as demoralised as now Everyone knows Indian agriculture is in deep crisis, impacting around 115 million farmers and an equal number of landless cultivators. Two consecutive bad monsoons and falling commodity prices have resulted in the imports of edible oils and pulses touching all-time-highs, even as its exports of agri-products — from basmati rice, soya meal, sugar, milk powder and...

-The Hindu Despite a mountain of evidence testifying to the huge toll of suicide in our youth and the knowledge of effective interventions to prevent suicide, there remains no coordinated effort to address suicide as a public Health issue in India. The recent suicides of three young women students in a medical college in Tamil Nadu citing the appalling conditions in their institution add to the mounting toll of suicides among young...