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. The Parliament was adjourned sine-die on 23rd December 2022, six days ahead of their schedule of the Winter Session. Read key highlights from the session with our Parliament round-up here.                                              
2. ‘City Finance Rankings’ initiative was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to evaluate, recognize and reward ULBs on the basis of their strength across key financial parameters.
3. Digitally capturing of MGNREGA attendance was made universal through the National Mobile Monitoring System App (NMMS) by the Centre.
4. An advisory was issued to the Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories by the National Commission for Women (NCW) to ensure the safety of women in educational institutions.
5. The sixth Common Review Mission recommended providing more freedom to states in implementing the MGNREGS and timely payment for houses under the PMAY scheme.

Health and Nutrition 

1. Integrated food security scheme rolled out by the Centre. The new integrated scheme subsumes the two former food subsidy schemes of the Department of Food and Public Distribution. Under the scheme, the Centre will provide foodgrain at no cost to 81 crore eligible citizens under NFSA. 
2. Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) was discontinued by the Centre.
3. Beta version of an ABDM-compliant Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) was released by the National Health Authority (NHA).

Sanitation

1. Ground survey of Pey Jal Survekshan was started by MoHUA under AMRUT 2.0.

Other News

1. The Prajjwala Challenge was launched by the Ministry of Rural Development to invite ideas, solutions and actions to transform the rural economy.
2. Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2021-22 was released by the Reserve Bank of India. 
3. The Right to Repair portal was launched by the Minister of Food and Consumer Affairs.
4. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is ready to pilot remote voting for domestic migrants.
5. The Social Progress Index, developed by the Institute for Competitiveness and Social Progress Imperative, was released by the Economic Advisory Council- Prime Minister.

Also Read: Why Think Tanks Are Critical to Indian Policymaking?