On February 18, 2016, India’s Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. After its launch, the PMFBY was implemented by 21 states during kharif 2016, whereas in rabi 2016-17, 23 states and 2 UTs implemented the same. The Central Government launched the PMFBY in the kharif season of 2016 with the intention to help farmers cope with crop losses because of unseasonal and extreme weather....

In the month of January this year, more than 100 homeless persons died (please click here and here to access) in Delhi-NCR due to cold wave like conditions. Although a Delhi-based non-government organisation (NGO) Centre for Holistic Development (CHD) made that claim, and therefore asked the Chief Minister of Delhi to make proper arrangements for the homeless poor during winters, the officials of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB)...

-The Telegraph Ordinance seeks to amend Section 14 of the Act, 1999, by inserting provision that the government may 'accept or reject' declarations or orders Bangalore: The CPI, a partner in Kerala’s Left Democratic Front government, has alleged that no political consultations were held prior to presenting before the cabinet the government’s ordinance to make Lokayukta orders non-binding on it. State CPI secretary Kanam Rajendran said the government should not have taken the...

-The Telegraph The state’s expert advisers assert that the earlier lower counts were not deliberate but the outcome of a lack of clear definition of Covid-19 deaths Bangalore: A paradoxical rise in Kerala’s Covid-19 mortality rate despite a shrinking epidemic ahead of omicron’s emergence reflects diligent death auditing under political pressure, public demand and good record-keeping lacking in other states, health experts have said. The auditing efforts had till Monday added over 16,900...

-Down to Earth Almost 90% of COVID-19 hospitalisations under the scheme took place in 4 states The Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), India’s flagship health insurance scheme launched in 2018, provided cushion to only 14.25 per cent of people hospitalised for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) between April 2020 and June 2021.  The scheme’s failure during the pandemic was expected. Since health is a state subject and PM-JAY is implemented by the...