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

Policy News

• The Union government disbursed the eighth instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana scheme on 14 May 2021. This was the first instalment of PM-KISAN for the financial year 2021-22. To learn more about the scheme, download.
• Amid the pandemic, implementation of labour reforms could get pushed to next year as most state governments are going slow on readying the rules framework for implementation of the four labour codes. To learn more about the four labour codes, download the policy brief.

Coronavirus-focus News

• The government has widened the gap between two doses of Serum Institute of India’s Covidshield vaccine to 12-16 weeks from four to eight.
• Requirement of a positive test for COVID-19 virus is not mandatory for admission to a COVID health facility, according to the Union Health Ministry.
• Haryana Government will provide Rs 5,000 to the families below the poverty line (BPL) in the state to provide some relief amid the pandemic.
• The Reserve Bank of India announced immediate liquidity of Rs 50,000 crore for banks for enabling them to extend Covid loans to healthcare entities.

Other News

• According to the World Health Organisation, high and upper-middle countries represent 53 per cent of the world’s population but have received 83 per cent of the world’s vaccine.