Passage 1
India’s ranking on the Global Soft Power Index has fallen from the 28th position it had secured in 2023, according to Modern Diplomacy.
The report by Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand evaluation consultancy, notes that India along with Brazil and South Africa “struggle to fulfil their soft power potential”, as they have relatively high Familiarity and Influence, especially in their home regions, but rank lower for Reputation.
Brand Finance publishes the Global Soft Power Index based on a survey of more than 1,70,000 respondents from over 100 countries to gather data on global perceptions of all the member states of the United Nations. The Index is the world’s most comprehensive study on perceptions of nation brands, providing an in-depth analysis of the evolving status of soft power as nations navigate significant global changes and challenges.
Source – https://thewire.in/diplomacy/
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Passage 2
Under the Centre’s flagship health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), two-thirds of the total money spent under the scheme each year went to private hospitals across the country. This came from 2.95 crore patients — 54% of all beneficiaries till December 2023, an investigation of official records and data obtained under the Right to Information by The Indian Express reveals.
In a country where the private sector anyway accounts for more hospitalisation cases — 60% in urban areas and 52% in rural areas — this trend affirms that for a big section of the population that was dipping into its savings for treatment in private hospitals, the Ayushman Bharat scheme has significantly reduced their out-of-pocket healthcare spending. The government’s own data suggests that average medical expenditure in private hospitals is 6-8 times that in government hospitals.
Source- https://indianexpress.com/article/express-exclusive/