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 has decided to give about Rs. 100 each to children studying in Class 1-8 in government schools, who are beneficiaries of the Mid Day Meal scheme. To learn more about the scheme’s finances, download our analyses.
• The Ministry of Education has released ad-hoc grants of Rs 5,228 crore under Samagra Shiksha and an amount of Rs 2,500 crore will be released soon to ensure continuity of various educational initiatives by the states and UTs.
• According to an SBI research report, India’s GDP is likely to grow at 1.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020-21 and may see a contraction of around 7.3 per cent for the full financial year.
• The National Health Authority has signed an MoU with Telangana Government to implement Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana in the state with immediate effect. Download our analyses on Ayushman Bharat to learn more about the scheme.

Coronavirus-focus News

• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) approved the country’s first home-based, self-use rapid test for COVID-19 developed by Pune-based biotechnology company MyLab.
• India dropped convalescent plasma therapy from the COVID-19 treatment protocol.
• Pfizer and BioNTech pledged to provide 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to middle- and low-income countries over the next 18 months.

Other News

• The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) will set up One-Stop to support women affected by violence in public and private spaces in foreign missions in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs.