Health Of The Nation

Section 2(8) of the Electricity Act, 2003 defines a captive generating plant as “ a power plant set up by any person to generate electricity primarily for his own use and includes a power plant set up by any co-operative society or association of persons for generating electricity for use of members of such co-operative society or association ”. The captive power generators can use the electricity for themselves and can also contribute to the power grid. Traditionally, captive power plants are used by energy-intensive industries/businesses such as steel plants and aluminum smelters to meet their own energy requirements and provide an uninterrupted power supply. However, since the advancements in renewable energy production technology sources such as wind and solar energy and the availability of windmills and mobile/rooftop solar panels, even individuals or cooperative societies fall under the ambit of captive power generators.  The captive power policy in India came into existence when

We are beyond the halfway mark in the journey towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (Agenda 2030), and it's a good time to reflect on the progress of the proposed objectives. For beginners, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 was established in 2015 as a successor to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). SDGs are a set of 17 goals with 169 targets as determined by each country. India, one of the SDGs' signatories, also established its targets for the achievement of these goals. According to the Sustainable Development Report 2024 (https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/rankings), based on the overall progress made, India ranks 109 out of 167 countries with a score of 63.99 on a scale of 100. According to the data, India has made consistent progress year-on-year towards achieving these goals. However, the performance is not uniform across 17 goals. Of the 17 goals, India is on track or maintaining SDG achievement on only two goals: SDG 1 (Zero Pover

The year is 2047 and India is basking in its centenary year of freedom from British Rule. The most populous  country  is ecstatic. There is joy  and  pride among its  1.5 billion-plus  citizens. And why not? The country has come a long way from its years of infancy. Like an infant dependent on others for care and nutrition, the initial years of the nation were import-dependent,  and  it achieved self-sufficiency in food and nutrition in its adulthood (the  decades of  20s and 30s  since independence ) through green and white revolutions. It took a bold decision to open itself and become a market-driven economy in its 40s and made its presence felt globally through  its 50s and 60s and was the cynosure of all eyes. Age was merely a number as the nation began to make rapid strides and continued to rise the fastest it ever had. And finally came the moment when the nation made its entry into the big boys' club (breaking into the top 10 economies globally). And continued to rise up the

With each passing day, managing risk is becoming increasingly critical. One of the most important and widely used tools of managing risk is insurance. Hence, today we see availability of insurance for almost everything from life, health, home, automobile, climate mitigation, electronic gadgets, data, travel, among host of other everyday things. While the most widely used insurance products are based on the principles of risk transfer to a third party or an underwriter for a premium, the oldest form of insurance is based on redistribution or risk sharing. It is known as Mutual or Cooperative insurance where a group of people come together to support one another through a mutual contribution. In case of insurance through a joint stock company, the insurer charges a premium to provide a risk coverage to the insured for a pre-defined event. In case of the occurrence of that event, the insurer pays the sum assured. If the said event doesn’t occur, the insurer gets to retain the premium. I

  With the insurance protection gap among the highest in Asia, Indians are vulnerable to health and economic shocks. The insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) estimates the protection gap to be around USD 400 billion. While India is a lower-middle-income country (LMIC), it's spending on healthcare is lesser than in lower-income countries. As of 2019, the penetration of non-life insurance is a mere 0.94 percent of the GDP and the density is USD19, which is far lower than its Asian peers. Covid-19 has brought attention and urgency to healthcare and health insurance, both among the public and the policymakers alike. India will need to rapidly increase the scale and penetration of insurance to achieve sizeable insurance coverage commensurate to its growing economy. While the technology has enabled newer models of distribution and increased the reach but similar progress is lacking in capital infusion in insurance firms, newer product development, and actuarial