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

Policy News 

General:

• As per a news report, the government may discontinue spending on 200 schemes to meet its fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent. The schemes have non-priority status, and the impact of their discontinuation is likely to be reflected in the budget of FY 2021. 

Rural Development: 

• Prime Minister Modi has reviewed the progress of projects worth Rs 61,000 cr, including the Aspirational Districts Programme, using PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation), which is an ICT-based platform. The dashboard consists of 49 performance indicators to measure progress of districts.

Education:

• Under the Amma Vodi scheme to be implemented in Andhra Pradesh, mothers of school-going children from poor families will be given assistance of Rs. 15,000 per year. The government also announced that it will be converting all government, Mandal Praja Parishad and Zilla Parishad schools into English medium schools. 

Health and Nutrition: 

• About 5 lakh Anganwadi Workers are updating data on the ICDS-Common Application Software (CAS) presently. The Ministry of Women and Child  Development is aiming to link all Anganwadis to the nutrition dashboard, by mid of next year. 

Sanitation: 

• The Uttar Pradesh government is surveying the number of women-headed families without toilets, after lapses in the state implementation of the Swachh Bharat Mission were reported.