A recent study published in the prestigious science journal 'PLOS One' (August 2014) shows that Central programmes like National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), and state-level initiatives like Yeshasvini health insurance scheme (Karnataka), Vajpayee Aarogyasri health insurance scheme (Karnataka), Rajiv Aarogyasri scheme (Andhra Pradesh), Chief Minister's Insurance Scheme for Life Saving Treatment (Tamil Nadu) etc. did little to reduce the financial burden arising out of...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: India's poorest and socially underprivileged people seem to have benefited the least from a set of government programmes launched over the past decade to reduce personal expenses on health care, research suggests. A team of health economists has found that the financial burden of health care on India's poorest 20 per cent, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Muslims has outpaced that on the richest 20 per cent and...

-The Hindu India must devise a demographic policy to separately meet the requirements of the young, middle-aged and elderly The Census data released recently show that unemployment in the country, especially among the youth, is very high, averaging nearly 20 per cent for the age group of 15-24 years. In some States like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, the unemployment rate is above 25 per...

-The Deccan Herald The government will not reduce subsidy on food items, fertilisers and development schemes in the current financial year starting April from what was paid in 2013-14, Minister of State for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman said. "The government does not plan to cut subsidies given in schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and National Food Security Act," the minister said in reply to a question in the Rajya...

-PTI New Delhi: With an aim to save standing kharif crops from weak monsoon, the Centre on Thursday announced 50 percent diesel subsidy to farmers in places where rainfall deficiency was more than 50 percent as on July 15. The 50 percent subsidy will also be applicable to places as and when states declare them as drought-hit. The government also raised the subsidy ceiling to 50 percent on seeds in order to partially...