Category Policy Update

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Thalassemia Bal Sewa Yojana (2017) : Assessing Public Support for Children with Genetic Blood Disorders.

Thalassemia is a major public health concern in India, which accounts for approximately 25% of the global β thalassemia burden (Sharma et al., 2023). Controlling this burden requires awareness programmes, prenatal screening, genetic counselling and accessible diagnostic facilities, particularly in rural areas (Sharma et al., 2023). In India, the Thalassemia Bal Sewa Yojana was launched in 2017 by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in association with Coal India Limited. Supported through corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, the scheme provides financial assistance of up to ₹10 lakh to eligible patients for bone marrow transplantation (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 2020). The scheme demonstrates how public institutions and corporate support can help make specialised treatment more accessible to children from economically disadvantaged families.

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India–Japan Human Resource Cooperation (2025):  Skills, Mobility and Institutional Coordination.

India–Japan relations have progressively diversified across several areas, including trade, investment, strategic engagement, science and technology, education, and people-to-people exchanges. The India–Japan Vision Statement, adopted on 29 October 2018, underscored the potential to leverage India's demographic strengths alongside Japan's capital, technological capabilities and industrial expertise, while identifying human resource development and exchanges as key pillars of bilateral cooperation. The complementary demographic and economic profiles of the two countries offer considerable opportunities for strengthening educational collaboration and workforce mobility. Building on this shared vision, both countries have pursued initiatives such as Japan-India Institutes for Manufacturing (JIMs), Japanese Endowed Courses (JECs), and expanded Japanese-language education to develop an industry-oriented talent pool and facilitate greater human resource exchanges.

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Expediting Justice: Evaluating the Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) Framework.

The pervasive backlog within India’s judicial machinery has long hindered the prompt delivery of justice, most acutely in cases involving sexual violence and crimes against children. Following nationwide public outrage and landmark legislative reforms enacted in the wake of the 2012 Delhi incident, legal frameworks were tightened—notably through the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. These statutes introduced stringent punitive measures, shifted evidentiary burdens, and instituted strict statutory timelines for investigation and trial completion.

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Surrogacy Regulatory Act 2021: Redefining Reproductive Rights in India

The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 (Act No. 47 of 2021) was enacted by the Parliament of India to regulate the practice and process of surrogacy. It received the assent of the President on 25 December 2021 (Ministry of Law and Justice, 2021). The Act constitutes the National Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board, State Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Boards, and appropriate authorities for regulation of surrogacy and related matters (Ministry of Law and Justice, 2021).

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The Weapons of Mass Destruction Amendment Act, 2022: Strengthening Controls on Proliferation Financing

India’s 2022 amendment to the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Act strengthened the legal framework for preventing the financing of activities involving weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems. It introduced an express prohibition on such financing and empowered the Central Government to freeze, seize or attach relevant assets. Subsequent government orders established procedures for implementing these powers. However, establishing a legal framework is not the same as demonstrating its effectiveness. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recognised progress in India’s counter-proliferation-financing framework in its 2024 assessment while identifying implementation challenges. The amendment’s impact must therefore be assessed by distinguishing legal progress from evidence of practical implementation.

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Institutionalizing Financial Inclusion: A Policy Review of Bihar’s JEEViKA Framework (2006)

The Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project (BRLP), locally branded as JEEViKA, was conceived in October 2006 by the Department of Rural Development, Government of Bihar, with World Bank backing (BRLPS, 2026). Initially launched as a pilot across six impoverished, climate-vulnerable districts targeting 1.5 million households, its original mandate was narrowly focused on poverty reduction through women's collectivization—organizing rural women into SHGs to build savings discipline, internal lending, and financial literacy (World Bank, 2020). At this stage, JEEViKA functioned as a limited, World Bank-funded pilot with no mandate to implement a national mission (World Bank, 2020).

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