Cavalier India Defence Training Academy

Spending, both by the Centre and the States, need to go up very significantly, it says. Finance Commission Chairman N.K. Singh during an interview with ‘The Hindu’ in New Delhi. File | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy The Fifteenth Finance Commission has mooted a greater role for public-private partnerships to ramp up the health infrastructure and scale up public spending on health from 0.95% of GDP to 2.5% by 2024, its chairperson N.K. Singh said on Wednesday. While public outlays should focus on primary health care at the panchayat and municipality level, private players should be relied on for specialty healthcare, he said, hinting that the Commission has recommended steps to fix the skewed availability of healthcare across India as poorer States have the worst facilities. Mr. Singh recommended substantial improvements in the working conditions for doctors in government hospitals, many of whom are hired on a contract basis by States, and the creation of an Indian Medical Service cadre as ...

Our deeply divided society has to be patched up with peaceful, reconciliatory and diplomatic means like education, awareness and social safety net.   Social and economic tensions need to be addressed for positivity, mental peace and happiness.   Happiness economics has finally received global recognition. It implies that economic indicators such as the gross national product, per capita income, healthcare facility, employment and wealth must be related with national happiness. The World Happiness Report, 2020 has ranked 156 countries by happiness of their citizens based on six key variables — income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust and generosity. Finland, despite not having the highest GDP, tops the list due to its social safety, personal freedom and a work-life balance while materially superior countries are ranked lower. The results mean that growth in happiness is not always accompanied by growth in economic prosperity. A somewhat similar phenomenon...