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

• States and Union Territories directed to set up and operationalise online Right to Information (RTI) portals within three months by the Supreme Court.
• Setting up of GST Appellate Tribunal approved by the Lok Sabha.
• Subsidy of ₹200 per LPG cylinder extended for a year under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).
• Aravalli Green Wall Project launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEF&CC).

Health and Nutrition 

• Rajasthan became the first Indian state to pass the Right to Health Bill. 
• Guidelines for use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the health sector released by the Indian Council Of Medical Research (ICMR).
• Six categories of rare diseases added under the National Policy For Rare Diseases (NPRD), 2021..

WASH

• Groundwater: A Valuable But Diminishing Resource report released by the Standing Committee On Water Resources.
• The United Nations World Water Development Report (UNWWDR) 2023 released. Access it here

Other News

• Report on implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) submitted by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs.
• Banks from 18 countries have been permitted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to allow payments in Indian rupees, the government told the Rajya Sabha

Also Read: Building the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission Ecosystem