In her address to the joint sitting of Parliament, President Pratibha noted that the mission has begun to strengthen rural public health infrastructure. The President also said that the vaccine producing institutes in the public sector will be revived to support the immunisation programme.
Apart from this, the health sector as a whole has an allocation of Rs 4,447 crore (Rs 44.47 billion). The finance Minister said the response for Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, which was operationalised last year, has been very good.
The Union Cabinet, meeting at the new PMO complex 'Seva Teerth', resolved to prioritize citizen empowerment and service in all its decisions, guided by the principle of 'Nagrik Devo Bhava'.
Lack of clarity on data-sharing persists, public health experts sceptic about the pilot that was run in six Union territories as benchmark for national roll-out
A nationwide strike called by central trade unions saw a mixed response across India, impacting various sectors and states differently, with some areas experiencing disruptions while others remained largely unaffected.
Three laws passed in Parliament could boost central revenues, reshape GST cess flows, shift MGNREGA costs to states and create new budget headroom ahead of the 2026-2027 Union Budget, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The Union Budget for 2026-27, presented by Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, which was a first, had an excellent domestic macro backdrop. According to the first advance estimates, gross domestic product (GDP) in constant prices is projected to grow 7.4 per cent in the current financial year, against 6.5 per cent in 2024-25.
A series of decisions were taken under the Public Health Department, including an approval to increase honoraria for field-level workers engaged under the Ayushman BharatPradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana.
New Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has, however, taken up the challenge on how to synchronise the employment guarantee programme with the ground realities.
'At COP30, the emphasis will be on unlocking climate finance, reinforcing the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and building resilience through inclusive transitions and the mainstreaming of adaptation.'
Over 53 lakh poor families are expected to avail the health insurance cover provided under this scheme, reports Sharat Pradhan
Last year, the minister had proposed the compulsory rural postings for all MBBS students. The announcement met with stiff resistance.
Senior Indian Administrative Service officer Pradeep Sharma, an accused in the National Rural Health Mission scam, who is lodged in the Dasna jail in Ghaziabad, developed severe pain in his back and was shifted to a separate barrack.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested former Lucknow Chief Medical Officer A K Shukla in connection with the murder case of his predecessor Vinod K Arya in October 2010.
'Women weavers are hardworking, open to learning, resilient.' 'They finish their cooking, housework, puja, then they come to weave.' 'They care about design. They care about beauty.'
The National Rural Health Mission scam in Uttar Pradesh has turned murkier with another health official found murdered at his home, the fifth victim in the last one year after the alleged bungling of over Rs.10,000 crore of central funds surfaced.
President Droupadi Murmu's address to the nation on the eve of the 79th Independence Day.
Two applications were filed before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Monday seeking the inclusion of earlier chief ministers in the ambit of the probe into the National Rural Health Mission funds scam. A division bench comprising Justice Pradeep Kant and Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi were hearing arguments on a PIL moved by journalist Sachidanand Gupta, demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the irregularities.
Recent documents by NITI Aayog and periodic labour force surveys on employment show that the importance of agriculture is rising in the Indian economy.
'I need 3-4 lakhs for the wedding. All prospective grooms demand a motorcycle which costs 1 to 1.5 lakhs, then you have to also give a bed, cupboard, utensils, fridge,' says Kamala, her wrinkled forehead furrowing with despair.
Non-flagship programmes to get a mere 5% hike in allocation
Even as Central Bureau of Investigation investigators were busy unfolding the much talked about National Rural Health Mission scam in Uttar Pradesh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday pointedly blamed the Mayawati government for large scale swindling of the Rs 9000 crore given to the state for augmentation of health services for the poor and the downtrodden across the state's vast rural expanse under the program.
A four-member Central Bureau of Investigation team, probing the multi-crore National Rural Health Mission scam, conducted raids at the district hospital in Ghazipur for the second consecutive day on Thursday and questioned Accredited Social Health Activists workers involved in the 'Safe Motherhood Programme'.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was at Palghar in Maharashtra on Wednesday to launch the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram as part of the National Rural Health Mission scheme, got a flowery surprise.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday carried out fresh searches across 23 locations in Uttar Pradesh in connection with the National Rural Health Mission scam. The searches are being carried out across 12 districts including Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Meerut, Jhansi at the residences of health department officials of the state, who had held the posts of chief medical officers and deputy CMOs, CBI sources said. The agency had on Friday registered four new cases.
In a fresh crackdown on the multi-billion National Rural Health Mission scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday carried out as many as 30 raids across five different cities in Uttar Pradesh.
Four new heads rolled on Wednesday in connection with the Uttar Pradesh's multi-billion National Rural Health Mission scam, that has already taken a toll of several bigwigs including a minister and a principal secretary in the Mayawati government.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has booked former chief medical officer of Lucknow A K Shukla and former deputy CMO Y S Sachan, who recently died inside the Lucknow district prison under mysterious circumstances, in the multi-crore National Rural Health Mission scam. The agency has filed two cases in the scam as it found leads which indicate that huge financial bungling was allegedly committed by Uttar Pradesh Health Department officials in connivance with the contractors
The anti-corruption branch of the Central Bureau of Investigations conducted raids at 40 places in New Delhi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Ghaziabad and Noida on Thursday morning after new cases were filed in the National Rural Health Mission scam. The investigation agency is looking at unearthing unaccounted money to the tune of Rs 1,800 crore that was allotted to Uttar Pradesh by the Centre.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has come across layered financial transactions undertaken by officials and politicians accused in the Uttar Pradesh National Rural Health Mission scam to cover tracks of illegal gratification and has involved Income Tax department and Financial Intelligence Unit to unearth the money trail.
UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi announced it while attending the inaugural function at North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences in Shillong on Friday. She however, said no time-frame had been set for unveiling the special healthcare scheme for urban areas.
A fortnight after ordering a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry in Deputy Chief Medical Officer Y S Sachan death case, the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday asked the agency to probe the killing of two of his seniors, observing that the murders may have been carried out to put a curtain on the Uttar Pradesh health department scam.
Mayawati said that she will address the media on her reported involvement in the National Rural Health Mission scam.
IAS officer Pradeep Shukla's arrest seemed to have become imminent once the CBI had arrested former Lucknow chief medical officer Dr A K Shukla on Monday. The arrested CMO was understood to have divulged major leads, clearly suggesting the neck-deep involvement of the senior IAS officer in the day-to-day working of the NRHM programme in the state.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has examined former Uttar Pradesh Minister Babu Singh Kushwaha's wife in connection with alleged swindling of funds in the National Rural Health Mission.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday filed its first chargesheet in connection with alleged irregularities in the upgradation of 134 hospitals in Uttar Pradesh under the National Rural Health Mission accusing five former government officials, two companies and two others in the case.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday alleged that the arrest of former Uttar Pradesh minister Babu Singh Kushwaha in connection with the National Rural Health Mission was an example of the Congress misusing the Central Bureau of Investigation to serve its ends. Kushwaha, who was the family welfare minister in Chief Minister Mayawati's cabinet, is one of the prime accused in the Rs 8,000-crore NRHM scam. He was arrested on Saturday by the CBI.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government over the Central Bureau of Investigation's decision to question her on the multi-crore National Rural Health Mission scam, claiming she had no connection with it and that the Centre was misusing the agency ahead of Bihar elections for political gains.
Continuing its probe in the National Rural Health Mission scam in Uttar Pradesh, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday registered four fresh cases relating to alleged irregularities in medical supplies and carried out searches in 22 districts. CBI sources said agency teams swooped down on 30 locations, including the medicine market in Aminabad locality in Lucknow, as part of a massive search operation on Friday morning.
Former minister in the Bahujan Samaj Party government in Uttar Pradesh Babu Singh Kushwaha has alleged that he is being trapped into the National Rural Health Mission scam as a part of a conspiracy hatched by senior bureaucrats.