Passage 1
Tobacco farmers in Andhra Pradesh are set to benefit after crop yields in Brazil, Zimbabwe and Indonesia declined due to droughts and untimely rainfall.
Auction prices in Andhra have surged to near-record levels and are expected to rise further in the coming weeks. Prices range between Rs 280 and Rs 290 per kg and are predicted to surpass Rs 300 per kg, marking a 30 per cent increase from farmers’ initial expectations, according to a report in the Times of India (TOI).
The surge in auction prices has been driven by the entry of small-scale players offering competitive bids. Despite initial concerns about challenges arising from production exceeding the Indian Tobacco Board’s target of 140 million kg, Andhra Pradesh farmers stand to gain. The board estimates total production will reach 160-170 million kg, the report said.
Source – https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/tobacco-p
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Passage 2
The National Health Policy (NHP) envisions universal access to quality and affordable healthcare. The nation’s commitment to increasing public expenditure on health in recent years is evident from the National Health Accounts (NHA) data, including the provisional estimates for 2020-21 and 2021-22.
These show that government health expenditure (GHE) as a proportion of GDP increased by an unprecedented 63 per cent between 2014-15 and 2021-22. It rose from 1.13 per cent of GDP in 2014-15 to 1.35 per cent in 2019-20. This further increased to 1.60 per cent in 2020-21 and to 1.84 per cent in 2021-22.
Source- https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/good-ne
