NSO: Out-of-pocket spending still drives hospitalisation costs

Despite a substantial increase in the coverage of health insurance or finance schemes, which only cover inpatient treatment, between 2017-18 and 2025, out-of-pocket expenditure by patients and their families still accounts for almost all of the spending on hospitalisation. This was revealed in the latest household consumption survey on health conducted by the National Statistical…

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‘Trade deal to provide huge opportunities’: Piyush Goyal ahead of India-New Zealand FTA signing

Union minister Piyush Goyal Agra: The free trade agreement (FTA) with New Zealand, scheduled to be signed on Monday, will provide huge opportunities for domestic firms, including leather exporters from the city of the Taj Mahal, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said Sunday. Goyal is here with the visiting New Zealand’s trade and investment…

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India’s wheat outlook: Production stable despite challenges, says government

India’s wheat output for the 2025–26 crop year is expected to remain steady despite weather disruptions, the agriculture ministry said on Sunday, even as an industry estimate suggested lower production. The ministry said that the crop is “stable and resilient despite localised damage” caused by unseasonal rainfall and hailstorms. It described the season as “mixed…

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