-The Financial Express With almost all ration cards in the country digitised and 40% seeded with Aadhaar, several states have now installed electronic point of sale (ePOS) devices at their fair price shops (FPSs). With almost all ration cards in the country digitised and 40% seeded with Aadhaar, several states have now installed electronic point of sale (ePOS) devices at their fair price shops (FPSs). The ePOS devices that track the...

-The Indian Express ICDS, the primary scheme targeting malnutrition, needs to be broadened with the help of the National Nutrition Mission. Every once in a while, a discussion or debate starts on malnutrition. On a debated issue, precision is desirable. Initially, there were several discussions on the word “malnutrition”, which can technically mean over-nutrition, as well as under-nutrition. But now, there is global consensus on three terms. First, for a given reference age,...

-The Hindu There will be a unified national database of beneficiaries that can be updated in real-time and automatically trigger new benefits. The government has drawn up an ambitious plan to scale up the present regime for direct transfer of benefits to the poor under various welfare schemes, by creating a unified national database of beneficiaries that can be updated in real-time and automatically trigger new benefits such as vaccine shots for...

-Economic and Political Weekly Health and nutrition indicators have improved, but remain unacceptably low. After a hiatus of a decade, we now have up-to-date information on the health and nutrition status of the population. Preliminary results for 13 states and two union territories of the much awaited National Family Health Survey–4 (NFHS–4) which was conducted in 2015–16—the first after NFHS–3 of 2005–06—have just been released. In a welcome development, NFHS–4, for the...

-India Today Concerned over the poor response, the Finance Ministry has asked all state-run banks to extend the date of government contribution till March 31, 2016. The Centre's flagship pension plan, launched with much fanfare last year, is struggling to stay afloat. It has been able to bring only about 10 per cent of the targeted two crore under its ambit. The Atal Pension Yojana (APY), aimed at ensuring pension for those...