-The Times of India Public sector insurers are on course to increase medical insurance premium with Oriental Insurance saying that it will end the six-year freeze and raise annual costs by around 15% in the wake of higher costs. Other state-run companies, which sell health insurance under the Mediclaim brand, too, are expected to follow suit, especially after the government prodded them to ensure that they run profitable businesses. The four companies...

-The Hindu Building ‘capitalism with Indian characteristics’ means decisions cannot ignore concerns of voters and communities As the economy slows down and the rupee wilts, Manmohan Singh has bitten the ‘reforms’ bullet with both eyes on the credit rating agencies whose negative reports have done much to dampen the ‘animal spirits’ of investors, foreign and native. Last November, when the Congress party made a push to introduce foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail,...

-The Hindu The CAG has a lot of explaining to do on the methods used to reduce the loss it estimated in its draft report Comptroller & Auditor General Vinod Rai, who has maintained a dignified silence despite being in the government’s line of fire for his controversial report on coal, now has no choice but to break his silence. On Thursday, he appears before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) where he is...

-The Hindu A Planning Commission draft document has made proposals that fail to reflect the case for expanding and improving public-funded medical services and reining in private operators In the health sector, the buzz these days is all about Universal Health Care (UHC). While health activists see in it potential to ensure access to quality health care for common citizens, commercial bodies seem to be eyeing the huge scope for profit from...

-The Hindu The draft law on acquisition strikes a balance between development and justice for those who will be displaced in the process India is a rapidly industrialising economy and society with intense demands for better infrastructure from its people. The last 20 years have seen a great acceleration in this process, with India becoming one of the world’s fastest growing economies. However, for those whose lands were acquired for these purposes...