Jaitley’s ‘ease of living’ budget to Cong comeback in Rajasthan: Top stories of the day

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a national healthcare scheme in a major giveaway to voters in the final budget before a general election. The Congress won three by-elections in BJP-ruled Rajasthan, shocking chief minister Vasundhara Raje ahead of state polls later this year. These stories made news on Thursday. Here is more about them.

Budget unveils healthcare for 500 million Indians

The government announced a national healthcare scheme for poorest Indians and massive funds to develop poor rural areas, looking to win over voters ahead of the next general election. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced the world’s largest government-funded health care programme, aimed at benefiting 10 crore poor families by providing coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. The National Health Protection Scheme will cover approximately 500 million people.

Budget proposes Rs 14.34 lakh crore in rural spending

Jaitley’s last full budget for the Modi government allocated Rs 14.34 lakh crore for rural infrastucture spending and extra support for farmers. Jaitley said the spending in rural areas aimed at creating jobs and entrepreneurs, in addition to laying hundreds of thousands of miles of rural roads, building new houses, toilets, and providing electricity.

PM Modi praises budget, Congress calls it ‘defeatist’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the budget improves “ease of living” and “strengthens the hopes of 1.25 crore Indians”. “This budget is farmer friendly, common citizen friendly, business environment friendly and development friendly. It will add to ease of living,” he said. The Congress, the main Opposition party, called the budget “defeatist”. I think they have thrown in the towel. It is a budget of a government which has conceded that it has failed to address key issues in the economy,” said Congress leader P Chidambaram, a former finance minister.

Congress wins 3 bypolls in Rajasthan, Trinamool win in Bengal

The Congress won three by-elections in BJP-ruled Rajasthan, shocking chief minister Vasundhara Raje ahead of state polls later this year. The Congress won the Alwar and Ajmer Lok Sabha seats and the Mandalgarh Assembly seat four years after it drew a blank in the 2014 general elections. In West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress wrested the Noapara assembly seat from the Congress and retained the Uluberia Lok Sabha seat in by-elections that put the BJP in the second place.

Virat Kohli ton upstages Faf du Plessis knock as India beat South Africa in Durban

Virat Kohli (112) scored his 33rd ODI century to lead India to an emphatic six-wicket victory that not just helped them draw first blood in the six-match ODI series but gave them their first win against South Africa at Kingsmead after six losses.

Supreme Court adopts roster system for allotting cases to judges

The Supreme Court adopted a roster system for the allocation of matters to judges, with Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra deciding to keep with himself public interest litigation cases. Misra’s order was put up on the court’s website and it’s significant because four seniormost judges in their January 12 press conference had questioned the allocation of sensitive PILs and important cases to judges junior.

Pakistani provincial minister, wife murdered in Karachi home

A Pakistani provincial minister and his wife were found dead with gunshot wounds at their home in Karachi, with police officials saying they suspected the murders were caused by enmity within the family. Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, 71, a senior politician of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party, and his wife Fariha Razzaq Haroon, a former media personality, were found in the bedroom of their residence, with the door locked.