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Poor people in India routinely have to wait for short-term employment, basic services and subsidized goods. Based on fieldwork in Delhi, this paper describes how this waiting blends into an environment where men are underemployed and women try to make ends meet by engaging in contentious public activities. While negotiating destabilized gender roles, the latter downplay their wait for services and describe much of their paid and unpaid work as 'mere' waiting and just 'passing time'. In complex responses, they sometimes internalize the relations of power that keep them waiting, while subverting them on other occasions. Exploring what these women hide or minimize brings to light a host of activities that question our understanding of the boundaries of labour, idleness and the broader work of social reproduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojna (AB-PMJAY) as a financial risk protection scheme intends to reduce catastrophic health expenditure (CHE), especially among poor. The current study was carried out to assess the utility of AB-PMJAY in terms of reduction in CHE from before and after admission in a tertiary hospital in the northern state of India. Methodology: It was a hospital-based cross-sectional study carried out from August 2020 to October 2021 at a public tertiary hospital of Himachal Pradesh, India. Data were collected from surgery- and medicine-allied (SA and MA) specialties. Along with socio-demographic details, information for total monthly family expenditure (TMFE), out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE), and indirect illness-related expenditure (IIE) was recorded before and after hospital admission. CHE was considered as more than 10.0% OOPE of THFE and more than 40.0% of capacity to pay (CTP). Results: A total of 336 participants with a mean age of 46 years were recruited (MA: 54.6%). The majority (-93.0%) of participants had illness of fewer than 6 months. The mean TMFE was observed to be INR 4213.1 (standard deviation: 2483.7) and found to be similar across specialties. The OOPE share of TMFE declined from 76.1% (before admission) to 30.0% (after admission). Before admission, CHE was found among 65.5% (10.0% of THFE) and 54.2% (40.0% of CTP) participants. It reduced to about 29.0% (based on both THE and CTP) after admission to hospital. Conclusion: AB-PMJAY scheme found to be useful in reducing CHE in a tertiary hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Insomnia is a serious health problem among older adults and, if untreated, is linked to a high morbidity rate and decreased quality of life. There is limited empirical evidence on Insomnia and its treatment-seeking exclusively among older adults (60 plus years) using representative data in India. This study assesses the prevalence and predictors of Insomnia and its treatment-seeking among older adults. Methods: Data gathered through the nationally-representative Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI); Wave 1 (2017-18) was used for the analysis. Specifically, information from older adults aged 60 and above for whom complete information on insomnia was available (n- 31,464) was considered for the analysis. Binary logistic regression was used to check the adjusted effects of insomnia's socio-demographic and economic predictors and its treatment-seeking status. Stata was used for the data analysis with a 5% significance level. Results: 37% of older adults had insomnia. Increasing age, female gender, living without a spouse, illiteracy, chronic health conditions, nutritionally underweight, physically inactive status, lack of exposure to mass media, Hindu religion, non-tribal status, and rural residence were significantly associated with insomnia. 3% of older adults sought treatment for insomnia. Not seeking treatment for insomnia was associated with male gender, exposure to mass media, physical activity, lack of chronic health issues, tribal status, living in a rural area, and being economically disadvantaged. Conclusions: A sizable number of older adults have insomnia, and the prevalence varies by their socioeconomic, demographic, and health status. Many modifiable risk factors like low education, chronic health conditions, smoking, being underweight, physical inactivity, and lack of exposure to mass media are identified. Treatment-seeking for Insomnia is further inadequate, enhancing the older adult's vulnerability to various morbidities. Policy and program intervention to raise awareness about insomnia, including early identification and pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment, will ensure better health and welfare of older adults. Estimations are based on self-report questionnaires; therefore, the possibility of recall bias and under-reporting cannot be ignored. Moreover, the estimation of insomnia may vary depending on various clinical definitions. However, a large sample size from a recent nationally representative survey with a robust sampling design is the strength of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian economy's growth depends heavily on the banking sector. In recent years, the banking business has undergone numerous changes. The RBI launched small finance banks as a banking initiative to encourage financial inclusion in India. Small finance banks offer services to financially excluded populations like farmers, labourers' low-income people, etc. This study is related to the period of six years from 2016-17 to 2021-22. The study uses descriptive statistics and the CAMEL model for the evaluation of financial performance. Descriptive statistics are analysed with the help of standard deviation and ANOVA. The CAMEL model analysis assists in determining how efficiently banks have performed in terms of each of the significant ratios including: (i) Capital Adequacy, (ii) Assets Quality, (iii) Management Effectiveness, (iv) Earning Quality, and (v) Liquidity Ratios. Based on the ANOVA the study concludes that the results of the selected banks have similar financial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic significantly affected both existing and undiagnosed Tuberculosis (TB) patients worldwide. The impact of the pandemic on the treatment outcomes of these patients in India remains unclear. Aim: To assess the difference in TB treatment outcomes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in an economically disadvantaged urban area in Southern India. Materials and Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted at a TB Unit in South Bangalore, Southern India, serving a population of 2,50,000 from January 2022 to December 2022. Purposive sampling was employed to select 516 patients who had registered for TB treatment during the years 2019 and 2020. The socio-demographic details and TB profiles of the patients were collected and tabulated. Treatment outcomes were classified according to World Health Organisation (WHO) definitions after a case record analysis. Data were entered into Microsoft Excel 2018 and analysed using Open Epi software. Descriptive statistics, such as mean and standard deviation, were used to report socio-demographic profiles, and the Chisquare test was utilised to evaluate the differences in treatment outcomes. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The study included a total of 516 subjects. There were fewer cases registered in 2020 (n=202), especially after the first quarter, compared to the number registered in 2019 (n=314). The majority of the cases during both years were new instances of microbiologically confirmed pulmonary TB with no co-morbidities. Treatment success rates were 85.35% in 2019 and 88.61% in 2020, which was not statistically significant. Conclusion: There was a noticeable reduction in the number of cases registered during 2020, indicating that the COVID-19 pandemic had a definite effect on TB case notification. However, treatment success rates increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase in the treatment success rate from 85.35% to 88.61% could be attributed to the decrease in the number of registered cases during the pandemic. The study thus found no significant impact on TB treatment success rate due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]