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

• The deadline for Smart Cities Mission has been extended by one year, from June 2023 to June 2024, by the Centre.
• ‘Marketing and Logistics Development for Promotion of Tribal Products from North Eastern Region’ (PTP-NER), a Central Sector Scheme, was launched by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
• Sangathan se Samriddhi campaign was launched by the Ministry of Rural Development under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission.
• The National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS) has been adopted by 28 states and Union Territories for land records.
• The SATHI (Seed Traceability, Authentication and Holistic Inventory) portal and mobile app was launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Health and Nutrition

• National Health Accounts Estimates (2019-20) released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• The National Medical Devices Policy, 2023 was approved by the Centre.
• The Union Ministry of Education urged state governments to procure pulses for PM POSHAN from National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED).
• ‘Promoting Millets In Diets: Best Practices Across States/UTs of India’ report released by NITI Aayog.

WASH

• India’s first water bodies census report released by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Other News

• Governors of states should either give assent or return bills as soon as possible, observed the Supreme Court. 
• State of World Population (SOWP) 2023 released by the United Nations Population Fund. 
• The State of the World’s Children (SOWC) 2023: For Every Child, Vaccination report released by UNICEF.
• The State of the Global Climate 2022 report released by the World Meteorological Organization.
• World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees and Societies released by the World Bank.
• Future Of Jobs Report 2023 released by the World Economic Forum.

Also Read: At A Glance: Maharashtra Budget 2023-24