Push for Ayurveda, Unani and other alternative systems of medicine

They have been brought into the mainstream through the National Health Mission; but funds allocation not high

Health hurts

Budgetary support offers little hope of meeting targets

Chidambaram pinpoints targets ahead of polls

Offers budget sops to women, youth and the poor

On the right track: railway to develop facilities for physically challenged passengers

Budget identifies employment avenue for physically challenged

Who gets how much

Budget outlay for different ministries and departments

Railway budget proposes a slew of measures for modernisation

Cost will be met through borrowings and debt service fund

Budget 2013: 10 per cent surcharge on the super rich is justified and needed

But this needs to be accompanied by measures to improve compliance and wealth tax collection

Demand Nirbhaya—fearless—cities

Catalysing safe design for public spaces should be among the top priorities to make cities safe for women, children and elderly

Lakhipur-Bhanga stretch of Barak river declared 6th national waterway

Budgetary support of Rs 123 crore for infrastructure on the stretch in Assam

Waste-to-energy plants to get a boost, says Chidambaram

Scheme to encourage cities, municipalities to set up such projects to get encouragement

Rs 1,400 crore for setting up water purification plants

Ministry of drinking water and sanitation gets Rs 15,260 crore

Budget offers big push for rural infrastructure

Green transportation gets lip service

Beyond a flailing state

Health ministry cannot provide basic services, the finance ministry cannot collect taxes and the chaos of governance worsens

A token gesture for food security

Activists say the budget lays bare governmentÔÇÖs intentions over food security bill

Big hikes in rural spending

Funds for MGNREGA maintained at Rs.33,000 crore, same as in 2012-13

Budget holds much-needed rural reform

Proposes to redefine backward region

Programme for maternal and child malnutrition gets Rs 300 crore

It was announced last year but could not take off due to fund crunch

More funds for watershed programmes

Allocation increased from Rs 3,050 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 5,387 crore

Mixed signals for vehicles, transportation

SUVs to be expensive but not diesel cars

It is not about farmers

Budget 2013 pushed up allocations for agriculture, but it will not help farmers

Poor show for renewable energy sector

Budget outlay for Ministry of New and Renewable Energy reduced

Budget 2013-14: provisioning for universal healthcare or moving away from agenda?

The world trend is to move towards public health systems, but developments in India seem to be in the opposite direction

Budget 2013: the path remains the same

Budget 2013: a missed opportunity

Finance minister's mool mantra—inclusive and sustainable development—may end up being empty words

Allocate 3 per cent of GDP to healthcare, says Indian Medical Association

Recommendations for Union Budget 2013-14 include wooing private sector; public health experts sceptical