Keep up-to-date with all that is happening in welfare policy with this curated selection of news – Policy Buzz – published every fortnight.

Policy News

1. To expedite the inclusion of women left out of Self Help Groups (SHGs) under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), a 15-day campaign is being run by the Ministry of Rural Development.  
2. Policy on long-term leasing of railways’ land for implementing PM Gati Shakti framework has been approved by the Union Cabinet.
3. The Centre has been directed to formulate a policy for giving employment to transpersons under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 by the Supreme Court within three months. 
4. Response has been sought from the Centre on a plea to introduce reservation for women in parliament and state assemblies by the Supreme Court.

Health & Nutrition 

1. The Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan was launched by the President with an aim to accelerate the country’s progress towards TB elimination.
2. Report titled, ‘Preserving Progress on Nutrition in India: POSHAN Abhiyaan in Pandemic Times’ released by the NITI Aayog. Download the report here.
3. With key focus on “Mahila aur Swasthya” and “Bacha aur Shiksha”, the Ministry of Women and Child Development is celebrating the fifth iteration of Rashtriya Poshan Maah from 1st to 30th September 2022

Education 

1. National Report on Benchmarking for Oral Reading Fluency with Reading Comprehension and Numeracy released by the Department of School Education and Literacy. Read it here.
2. Pradhan Mantri Schools For Rising India (PM-SHRI) Yojana approved by the Union Cabinet under which 14,500 schools from across the country will be upgraded as PM-SHRI schools.
3. Guidelines for transforming colleges and universities into multidisciplinary institutions finalised by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Sanitation

1. The Urban Waterbody Information System (UWaIS) portal was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs with help from National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad.
2. Report titled, ‘Progress on WASH in Health Care Facilities 2000-2021: Special focus on WASH and infection prevention and control’ released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Other News

1. Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology (WEST), a new I-STEM (Indian Science Technology and Engineering facilities Map) initiative was launched by the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA).
2. More than ₹24.8 lakh crore has been transferred through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode since 2013, according to data shared by the Ministry of Electronics and IT.
3. Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2022 report released by the UN Women.
4. The Human Development Index (HDI) report for 2021-22 was published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). India ranked 132 out of 191 countries in the index.
5. Report titled ‘World Social Protection Report 2020-22: Regional companion report for Asia and the Pacific’ released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

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