Keep up-to-date with all that is happening in welfare policy with this curated selection of news, published every fortnight. The current edition focusses on the Coronavirus pandemic in India, and the government’s efforts to stem its increase. 

Policy News

• The secretariats of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha notified that there will be no Question Hour during the Monsoon Session of Parliament in view of the pandemic.
• India’s gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 23.9 per cent during the April-June period of financial year 2020-21.
• Census 2021 is going to be delayed on account of the pandemic, with the Union government ruling out any Census operations until December.
• The National Digital Health Mission has been launched. It is a part of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
• The Karnataka government will be bringing in reforms to implement the National Education Policy released last month.
• Ladakh and Lakshadweep have joined the ‘One Nation-One Ration Card’ scheme, taking the total number of states and union territories linked with the scheme to 26.
• The government has made plans to identify people who are ineligible but are still receiving benefits of the PM-KISAN scheme. PM-KISAN provides farmers Rs 6,000 annually in three equal instalments.

Others

• As per a report, the average income per person, per month under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) doubled to Rs. 1,000 in the first four months of the current fiscal year.