-The Times of India NAGPUR (Maharashtra): Even as the issue of pesticide inhalation deaths dog Maharashtra government, Punjab has come up with a ban on monocrotophos as well as 19 other pesticides. As a state can impose ban on a pesticide for not more than 60 days, in Punjab orders to stop issuing fresh licences as well as renewal have been issued. Accidental inhalation of pesticides led to 52 deaths in Vidarbha...

-The Indian Express Budget’s bias toward privately-delivered care undermines universal health coverage Until about four decades ago, specialist healthcare (SECondary and tertiary care) was largely a province of public hospitals, and the private SECtor largely kept itself to the provision of generalist healthcare. This underwent a transformation with the rise of the advanced medical interventions comprising tertiary-care medicine like organ transplantation and open heart surgery. Given these highly-profitable medical advances, the private...

-The Times of India SURAT (Gujarat): Even as police are trying to reach the root of biometric data theft racket done to pilfer food grains issued to poor people, another scam of tampering with Aadhar data has been exposed in the city. The accused Hiren Prajapati, 26 and Prashant Pradhan, 20, both residents of Pandesara, were modifying the Aadhar Card data of individuals using a rubber thumb. They were arrested on Saturday...

-ThePrint.in The larger lesson is clear: in an era when the Congress & the BJP can agree on next to nothing, they will gladly join hands to save their own skin. Among all the talk of the aam aadmi focus emerging from last week’s Budget, many people may have missed one of its most self-serving acts. This manoeuvre found no mention in the Union Finance Minister’s presentation itself, but was instead buried...

-The Hindu Policy should address credit, crop insurance, drip irrigation The government’s efforts to focus on the welfare of farmers in the Union Budget is admirable. However, in a zero-sum situation such as budget allocation, the government often finds itself trying to choose between short-term results and long-term benefits. Short term results might come with loan waivers and increase of Minimum Support Price (MSP), but care should be taken to address the...