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

Policy News

• Union Budget 2021-22 was presented by the Union Finance Minister in the parliament. We, at Accountability Initiative, released 10 Budget Briefs that analyse trends in allocations, public expenditures, outputs and outcomes of key social sector programmes using government reported data. Download
• The first revised estimates released by the National Statistical Office showed that the economy recorded a lower growth of 4 per cent in 2019-20, as against 4.2 per cent growth estimated earlier.
• Maharashtra government launched a scheme aimed at providing financial assistance to innovative startups to file for IT patents.
• Punjab government launched the ‘Har Ghar Pani, Har Ghar Safai’ mission as part of the government’s campaign to accomplish the goal of 100 per cent potable piped water supply in all rural households by March next year.
• The Finance Ministry released grants worth Rs 12,351 crore to 18 states towards the development of rural local bodies.
• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, has crossed 1.75 crore eligible women till FY 2020. A total sum of ₹5,931.95 crore was paid to 1.75 crore eligible beneficiaries between FY 2018 and FY 2020.
• The average dropout rate of girls was 17.3% at the secondary education level and 4.74% at the elementary level in 2018-19. Karnataka, Assam, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura recorded high drop-out rates among girls in the period.

Coronavirus-focus News

• The Serum Institute of India (SII) and UNICEF have entered into a long-term supply agreement for the AstraZeneca/Oxford and the Novavax vaccines.

Others

• The government and the World Bank have signed an agreement for the financial support worth Rs 5718 crore towards the implementation of the Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) project.