Keep up-to-date on welfare policy with this curated selection of news, published every fortnight.

Policy News 

General: 

• On August 23rd, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of measures to boost growth amid concerns of economic slowdown. Her announcement preceded approval for transfer of Rs 1.76 lakh crore by the Reserve Bank of India to the union government. The transfer is said to amount to 1.25% of the GDP (2018-19), and is aimed at meeting the government’s fiscal deficit target.
• The government has also announced the merging of 10 public sector banks, dubbed as a ‘mega merger’ in the media, to prepare India against economic slowdown.

Health and Nutrition: 

• In a bid to tackle malnutrition, PM Narendra Modi in his monthly Mann Ki Baat programme urged citizens to observe September as ‘Poshan Abhiyan’ across the country. Health and nutrition are seen as a top priority by the government, with efforts directed at a ‘kuposhan mukt bharat’ (malnutrition-free India) by 2022. 
• In Rajasthan, the state government has decided to launch a new health insurance scheme by combining Ayushman Bharat and Bhamashah, the state Health Minister has said. Implementation will begin from 1 September 2019. 

Education: 

• The Ministry of Human Resource Development has launched a new app to encourage transparency in education service delivery. ‘Shagun’ is envisioned to provide users with information such as report cards of 15 lakh schools, and the distance between schools. 
• The deadline for giving recommendations on the draft National Education Policy was 15th August 2019 with the finalised document expected to become a guiding light for public school education in the country. Accountability Initiative has extensively studied government education bureaucracy, education financing among other things, based on which recommendations have been submitted. These can be found here.

Sanitation:

• In an attempt to make toilets more accessible for people with disabilities, the government is launching an initiative called the San Sadhan Hackathon. Keen to get smart, scalable and innovative solutions for economical toilets, the government has invited tech enthusiasts to participate in the hackathon. They will be mentored by the Ministry of Jal Shakti and industry experts.