-IANS Kolkata: Lack of policy directions for ensuring quality implementation of programmes makes the Union Budget 2017-18 allocations to ailing core social sectors like education and health inadequate in delivering the benefits, experts say. Schemes like Swachh Bharat-Urban and the National Social Assistance Programme saw no increase, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan got a mere 4.4 per cent rise in allocation, while the Integrated Child Development Services got an enhancement of about five per...

-The Hindu Business Line Chennai: National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS), a national insurance scheme that will be effective from April 1, is likely to provide insurance cover to 70 per cent of the population. By this scheme, each family will get health cover up to ?1 lakh as opposed to ?30,000 under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), the current health insurance scheme. An additional ?30,000 will be provided for senior citizens...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: India's government-funded health insurance schemes have increased patients' access to hospitalisation but failed to reduce their households' personal out-of-pocket Healthcare expenses, the most comprehensive review of the schemes so far has found. The review by public health analysts has found increases ranging from 12 per cent to 244 per cent in hospital-based services across the country since the schemes were launched a decade ago. But there is no...

-Hindustan Times Delhi: Former Secretary-General of United Nations (UN), Kofi Annan, has commended Delhi government’s flagship Mohalla Clinic project that is aimed at providing free primary Healthcare to city residents closer home. In a letter on January 25 to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in capacity as chair of The Elders, an organisation of independent global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela, Annan also shared suggestions that could help reform the project and...

-TheWire.in According to doctors working in hospitals providing low-cost treatment, the number of patients has reduced by about 30% since demonetisation. The recent debate on demonetisation-related deaths has taken place mainly in the context of people who died while waiting in bank queues or collapsed while standing in these queues and died soon after. In addition, there are those whose sudden death is being attributed to stress from not finding valid currency...