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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
'Govt does not foresee revenue shortfall, aims to achieve deficit target'
The Central government does not foresee any revenue shortfall at this stage and aims to achieve the targets fixed in the Budget Estimates for 2025-26, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed Parliament on Tuesday. As per the Budget, the Centre has estimated the fiscal deficit for 2025-26 at 4.4 per cent of GDP, amounting to Rs 15.69 lakh crore. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said the Central government supports state finances through Finance Commission grants, Centrally Sponsored Schemes, and Special Assistance as loans to states for capital expenditure. Total resources being transferred to the states, including the devolution of state's share in taxes, grants/loans and releases under Centrally Sponsored Schemes, etc, in Budget Estimates for 2025-26 is about Rs 25.01 lakh crore, he said. In reply to another question, Chaudhary said, as per inputs received from Public Sector Banks (PSBs), as on March 31, 2025, 96 per cent staff are in position against their business requirement. The small proportion of gap is attributable to attrition on account of superannuation and other usual factors, including unplanned exits, he said. Further, during the last 5 years (FY 2020-25), banks have recruited 1,48,687 employees, and for FY 2025-26, recruitment of 48,570 employees is underway, he added. Replying to another question, Chaudhary said, insurers are required to decide on the request for cashless authorisation within 1 hour of receipt of such request and grant final authorisation within 3 hours of the receipt of discharge authorisation request from the hospital as per IRDAI Master Circular on Health Insurance Business dated May 29, 2024. However, the data related to the average time taken by insurance companies and third-party administrators (TPAs) for the claim settlement is not maintained by IRDAI, he said. IRDAI has informed that during FY 2023-24, 58.39 per cent of total claims were settled through cashless mode in terms of count and 66.16 per cent in terms of amount, he said. As per the data provided by National Health Authority, he said, the number of hospitals onboarded to National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX) is 450 as on March 28, 2025. In another reply, Chaudhary said, enforcement action has been taken against 886 entities during the period April 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, for violation of provisions of SEBI (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Relating to Securities Market) Regulations, 2003. Continuous monitoring of key parameters is done to assess the effectiveness of measures implemented in the market, he said. Surveillance systems, data analytics tools and digital forensics tools are constantly upgraded to detect manipulations, he added.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Govt does not foresee revenue shortfall, aims to achieve deficit target: MoS Finance
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The Central government does not foresee any revenue shortfall at this stage and aims to achieve the targets fixed in the Budget Estimates for 2025-26, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed Parliament on per the Budget, the Centre has estimated the fiscal deficit for 2025-26 at 4.4 per cent of GDP, amounting to Rs 15.69 lakh a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said the Central government supports state finances through Finance Commission grants, Centrally Sponsored Schemes , and Special Assistance as loans to states for capital resources being transferred to the states, including the devolution of state's share in taxes, grants/loans and releases under Centrally Sponsored Schemes, etc, in Budget Estimates for 2025-26 is about Rs 25.01 lakh crore, he reply to another question, Chaudhary said, as per inputs received from Public Sector Banks (PSBs), as on March 31, 2025, 96 per cent staff are in position against their business small proportion of gap is attributable to attrition on account of superannuation and other usual factors, including unplanned exits, he during the last 5 years (FY 2020-25), banks have recruited 1,48,687 employees, and for FY 2025-26, recruitment of 48,570 employees is underway, he to another question, Chaudhary said, insurers are required to decide on the request for cashless authorisation within 1 hour of receipt of such request and grant final authorisation within 3 hours of the receipt of discharge authorisation request from the hospital as per IRDAI Master Circular on Health Insurance Business dated May 29, the data related to the average time taken by insurance companies and third-party administrators (TPAs) for the claim settlement is not maintained by IRDAI, he has informed that during FY 2023-24, 58.39 per cent of total claims were settled through cashless mode in terms of count and 66.16 per cent in terms of amount, he per the data provided by National Health Authority, he said, the number of hospitals onboarded to National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX) is 450 as on March 28, another reply, Chaudhary said, enforcement action has been taken against 886 entities during the period April 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, for violation of provisions of SEBI (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Relating to Securities Market) Regulations, monitoring of key parameters is done to assess the effectiveness of measures implemented in the market, he systems, data analytics tools and digital forensics tools are constantly upgraded to detect manipulations, he added.
West Australian
16-07-2025
- Health
- West Australian
Vape use among teens dropping for the first time as government regulation stems access
Rates of vaping among young people have started to drop for the first time in signs tighter government regulation is turning the tide. Latest figures from the Generation Vape study reveal 85 per cent of Australian teens aged 14-17 have never vaped, up from 82 per cent in 2023. The proportion of young people who have never smoked is also at its highest too, at 94 per cent. It's a promising sign teens are turning away from nicotine products, with chief investigator of the study Professor Becky Freeman saying the 'social acceptability of vaping over the past few years has shifted'. 'Young people tried vaping as it was marketed to them as fun, 'safe' and full of great flavours, but increasingly young people report the realities of vaping addiction and harm to their wellbeing,' Professor Freeman said. Access to vape products has also declined since the introduction of federal vape laws in July 2024 that aim to limit the sale of vapes to pharmacies only, regardless of nicotine content. About one in four young people reported purchasing their own vape, down from roughly one in three before the laws came into play. Tobacconist and vape shops remained a major source of vape sales with about one in three teens buying from such a retailer, highlighting ongoing difficulties with regulation and enforcement. Chair of the Cancer Council's tobacco issues committee Alecia Brooks said the latest figures were encouraging indicators that vaping laws are protecting young people, but that some retailers 'continue to exploit young people'. 'Some tobacconists and vape shops are still blatantly selling illegal vapes to young people,' Ms Brooks said. It comes as calls to WA's poisons hotline from concerned parents worried their babies have been exposed to vapes have tripled just six months into the year. Speaking on the matter in Budget Estimates earlier this month, Health Minister Meredith Hammat said the spike in calls reflected 'a growing awareness in the community about the harmful nature of vapes'. Since January 2024 the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Australian Border Force have seized more than 10 million illicit vapes with a street value of nearly half a billion dollars. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said 'vaping rates for young Australians have now turned the corner'. 'Our education and prevention campaigns as well as support to deter people from taking up vaping and smoking or to quit are making a difference,' he said.
West Australian
03-07-2025
- Health
- West Australian
Opposition renews calls to fund meningococcal B vaccine as WA hits seven cases of deadly disease
The Opposition has renewed calls to fund the meningococcal B vaccine after six of seven recorded cases of the deadly disease this year were identified as the strain. The latest case of the uncommon but life-threatening bacterial infection, diagnosed in a child who is now recovering in hospital, brought the total in line with the State's five-year average. It prompted shadow health minister Libby Mettam to urge the Minister for Preventative Health to consider a free vaccination program for MenB in Budget Estimates on Wednesday. A combined vaccine for A, C, W and Y strains is free via the National Immunisation Program for all children aged 12 months, but the immunisation to protect against the B strain is not. Immunising against MenB is currently a costly exercise in WA with two doses of the jab costing between $320 to $350. It is only free for First Nations children and other children with specified conditions. When urged to consider a free vaccination program in Budget Estimates, Preventative Health Minister Sabine Winton said WA Health were closely monitoring cases. 'The Department of Health and the Communicable Disease Control Directorate closely monitor all those serious notifiable diseases, including meningococcal,' she said. 'They continue to provide advice to ministers, including me, regarding the requirements relating to meningococcal B and other strains. 'I will continue to monitor the trends in relation to MenB and seek advice from experts around Western Australia's future response.' WA Department of Health director-general Shirley Bowen said a vaccination program would be considered if there were clusters of MenB in the community. 'Seven is a number that concerns us definitely,' she said. 'We have a very active and watching brief on this situation and we will consider it at any time should we see significant clusters of meningococcal B occurring. 'At the moment, we are not seeing significant clusters. We are just seeing the occasional case but we definitely recognise it is an important and preventable disease and we will continue to watch it actively.' At a press conference on Tuesday, Ms Mettam said the strain B vaccine 'represents extraordinary bang for buck because it ultimately saves lives'. 'Meningococcal B is a serious life threatening condition but there is a way to prevent it and that is through the roll out of a free vaccination, something that we have seen in other states,' she said. 'The Cook Labor government can do this.' Meningitis Centre chief executive Karen Quick backed the call for MenB vaccinations to be made free. 'South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory have all gone ahead as they're not prepared to take a gamble with their children's lives,' she said. 'Western Australia can do exactly the same thing. It's not fair, it's not equitable that the states across our borders get vaccinated and yet our children here in WA don't. 'Vaccines are no good sitting on shelves. They need to be in our children's arms to protect them.'
West Australian
02-07-2025
- Health
- West Australian
School holidays set to supercharge spread of flu as WA cases hit over 10,000
Two people have died of influenza in the past fortnight, with the Health Minister describing this year's flu season as the worst in a decade — and experts warning the school holidays will only supercharge the spread. WA Health figures show there have been 10,428 recorded influenza infections so far this year, more than double the 4641 cases at the same time last year. In June, there were 2948 flu cases compared to 1455 in the same month in 2024. The flu has killed five people so far this year — one less than at the same time last year. Two of those deaths occurred between June 8 and June 22. A further 1692 people had been admitted to hospital as of June 22 — more than 800 hospitalisations more than the same time last year. The alarming figures can be revealed after Health Minister Meredith Hammat claimed high rates of ambulance ramping were due to the worst flu season in a decade. Ms Hammat pointed the finger as she was grilled in Budget Estimates on Tuesday about the number of hours ambulances were ramped at WA hospitals in May and June. Ambulance crews spent 5336 hours waiting to transfer patients outside WA hospitals in May, the highest on record for that month. In June, ambulances were ramped for a total of 5573 hours, with the length of time paramedics waited outside regional hospitals hitting its highest ever monthly record at 259 hours. 'There's a variation across months, you referred to the May figures, but we are dealing with the worst flu season in 10 years,' Ms Hammat said. 'The context is important — the context of the ageing and growing population, the context of the worst flu season in 10 years. These are all factors that have an impact as well.' Curtin University international health professor Jaya Dantas said she expected flu cases to increase further with public school holidays starting at the end of this week. 'The months of July and August are our winter months, so it gets colder, wetter and at the same time we have the school holidays — this all leads to an increase in infections,' she said. 'If there is a subsequent increase in emergency department presentations then it's worrying because it means that it can actually have an impact on our health system.' Australian Medical Association WA president Kyle Hoath said the State was in the middle of a 'horror flu season'. 'The flu season is probably three or four weeks ahead of where we were this time last year, but we don't see it ending sooner,' he said. 'It's always hard to predict with the flu, but the likelihood is that cases will continue to rise and we will be in for a horror winter. 'The impact on the emergency departments, on our after hours and critical care clinics, and GPs is going to go through the roof over the next six to eight weeks.'
