Keep up-to-date with all that is happening in welfare policy with this curated selection of news, published every fortnight. The current edition focusses on the Coronavirus pandemic in India, and the government’s efforts to stem its increase. 

Policy News

• A Rs 1 lakh crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund has been launched by the Union government in order to boost the country’s agriculture sector and aid farmers during the pandemic.
• The government is planning to extend the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana to cover the non-poor population of the country. Read this piece with Dr Jeffrey Hammer nuancing the insurance scheme.
• The Assam government is planning to launch a direct beneficiary transfer (DBT) scheme called ‘Orunodoi’ for women.
• Under the National Food Security Scheme, the Rajasthan government will provide free foodgrains to beneficiaries till November. Download a factsheet on the status of the Pradhan Mantri Ann Yojana scheme from here.
• The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has been suspended for a year by the Gujarat government, and the “Mukhya Mantri Kisan Sahay Yojana” launched as a temporary replacement.
• The Maharashtra government has exempted all serving and retired soldiers from the Gram Panchayat property tax.

Education

• The government is planning to launch a two-month-long national outreach programme on the new National Education Policy (NEP) to make all stakeholders aware of the structural reforms.
• The Reserve Bank of India has released the Second National Strategy for Financial Education (NSFE) for the period 2020-2025.

Others

• According to a joint report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and International Labour Organisation (ILO), the youth unemployment rate in India may touch 32.5%, third-highest rate predicted among 13 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.