-DNA Only 17% rural households take loans from financial institutions | Caste affiliation, gender play a part in getting credit As many as 31% of rural households in India are indebted and a significant number still depend on money-lenders, paying heavy interests, despite various government schemes and a network of rural banking. A parliamentary panel that probed the state of rural, agricultural banking found that a mere 17% rural household had taken...

It was a Rashomon moment for the readers of the First Common Review Mission report when they heard activists complaining about the pension system of Rajasthan during a recent press conference held in the capital. The First Common Review Mission (CRM) report, which was prepared during the month of May this year by a team of 32 experts had observed that pension related payments under the National Social Assistance Programmes (NSAP)...

-The Indian Express Several questions have been raised about our estimates of the savings from the DBT scheme for cooking gas. But all parties accept that the programme reduced subsidised sales by 24 per cent. Direct cash transfers have the potential to improve the economic lives of the poor by transferring benefits to households quickly and directly. Achieving these benefits requires thoughtful design of schemes, and careful, rigorous analysis of ongoing...

-The Indian Express Building on the Jan Dhan framework, India should move from price to income support Financial inclusion is an important policy pillar of the Narendra Modi government to ensure inclusive development (sabka saath, sabka vikas). What it means, in brief, is to mainstream financial services for the masses, especially credit at affordable costs from institutional sources. This is not the first time financial inclusion is being given a thrust. Various...

-The Hindu The public health care system, if adequately funded, is still the better alternative in a developing and complex country like India The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), by consensus, has adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of objectives meant to improve the lives of millions of poor in the world. Among these, access to quality health care and freedom from disease is of paramount importance in helping societies...