Nine of India’s poorest states–home to 581 million or 48% of India’s population–account for 70% of the country’s infant deaths, 75% of under-five deaths and 62% of maternal deaths.
Author: accountability
Right to Education: No sweeping change yet
Yamini Aiyar in GovernanceNow on the importance of accountability in school education to improve learning.
Did Union Budget – 2016 allocate more for rural India and the social sector? Not really
A closer look at budgetary numbers highlights why Indian budgets need to be more transparent.
Union Budget 2017 was a status quo budget for the social sector
There were no surprises—no helicopter drop of money into Jan-Dhan accounts, no move to dismantle ongoing welfare schemes in favour of a universal basic income (UBI). Far from being the populist, game-changing budget that many had expected, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley presented a sombre, status quo budget which, apart from some tinkering with allocations, offers no vision and agenda for social policy, especially when it comes to core sectors like health and education.
Status quo for majority of social sector schemes
There were a lot of expectations from Budget 2017. The demonetisation on November 8, and the chapter on Universal Basic Income (UBI) in the Economic Survey had raised our hopes for a big bang announcement on the social sector. Partially, I admit, this expectation was premature. UBI is complicated at best, something recognised by the Economic Survey as well, and the ‘benefits’, if any, of demonetisation are yet to be realised. The net result is thus status quo for a majority of the schemes under the social sector.
A status quo budget for the social sector
It should lay to rest the ongoing debate about this government’s attempt to radically restructure India’s welfare architecture.
Renewed focus on maternal and child health a welcome first step
The demonetisation sop is a unique opportunity to evolve the maternal and child health agenda into a universal Maternity Benefits Programme in the budget.
Malnourished Systems: Why India’s Child Development Programme Is Getting Stunted
Why India’s Child Development Programme Is Getting Stunted?
Here’s What Really Happens To Budget Rupees For The Social Sector
On the 1st of February 2017, the Finance Minister will present his 4th budget to the nation. Like every year, the budget speech will be followed by a slugfest as political parties and commentators argue over stated priorities and budget allocations. The debate is particularly shrill when it comes to social sector schemes as politicians and commentators can never quite agree whether allocations in a given year are too high or too low. But for the average bureaucrat and the aam junta—the actual beneficiaries of these contentious social schemes—these debates over budget estimates are meaningless.
Three Years On, the Modi Government Still Has Gaping Holes in its Social Policy
Despite emphasis on ’empowerment’ over ‘entitlements’, which comes with its own set of problems, health and education remain invisible in the Modi government’s social policy agenda.