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

Policy News 

General:

• The tenure of the Fifteenth Finance Commission has been extended by the Union Cabinet by 11 months, citing the change in the Terms of Reference (ToR). The Commission’s award coverage period has also been increased by a year, which will now end on 21 March  2026. 

Health and Nutrition: 

• The government has allocated Rs 9,046 crore for POSHAN (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment) Abhiyaan, also known as the National Nutrition Mission. The programme was launched in 2017-18 with a three-year period. The aim to improve the nutritional status of children from 0-6 years, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers in a time-bound manner. 
• NITI Aayog has urged states to participate more actively in procuring smartphones and growth-measuring devices for anganwadis under the National Nutrition Mission. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog has also noted a “huge need” for training and capacity  building of anganwadi workers. 

Education: 

• The Human Resource Development Ministry has decided to do away with school examinations from 2021, and restructure Board examinations. The new evaluation module will be based on class assessments. This comes under the National Education Policy, which is expected to be implemented from 2021, and will be focussing on formative learning. 

Sanitation: 

• The National Statistical Office has published results from a survey on Drinking Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Housing Condition. Around 71% of rural households and 96% of urban households had access to toilets in 2018. A summary of the findings can be found here.  As per a news report, half of rural households in Uttar Pradesh and Odisha had no access to toilets in 2018. The survey forms part of the 76th round of National Sample Survey (NSS).