Micro health insurance hedges risk for India's poorest

Nandakumar Rajeshirke was suspicious of health insurance when he first heard about the idea three years ago. He had trouble understanding why it made sense to gamble on an unforeseen illness or accident when there was no guarantee he would ever see any money in return. Nandakumar Rajeshirke was suspicious of health insurance when he first heard about the idea three years ago. He had trouble understanding why it made sense to gamble on an unforeseen illness or accident when there was no guarantee he would ever see any money in return.But his insurance provider, a network of nongovernmental organizations called UpLift India Association, had already earned his trust by supplying him with reliable microcredit to fund his stone carving business in the city of Pune. Mr. Rajeshirke decided to buy coverage for his whole family at 50 rupees ($1.10) per person annually and renewed the plan for several years in a row.In 2005, his gamble paid off. Rajeshirke's wife needed a hysterectomy, a procedure that would normally cost 20,000 rupees ($446), one-third of his yearly salary."Without insurance," he says, "I would have had to sell some things from my house or get a loan from someone at high rates." Instead of facing financial ruin, he paid 6,000 rupees ($134) total and had help navigating the long process through diagnosis, surgery, and medication.Such plans, known as micro health insurance, are gathering momentum in regions of Asia and Africa that lack public health strategies. These nonprofit programs aim to provide quality healthcare at low premiums on a community-level scale. The idea is that, with creative planning, the poor can benefit from the same protections against risk as the rich.India is a world leader in this emerging field, with 5 to 10 million people enrolled in micro health insurance nationwide. Fewer than 10 percent of India's 1.1 billion people have any sort of health insurance, much of which covers only government employees. Poor people usually work in informal jobs or are self-employed, so they are extremely unlikely to be included in employment-related plans.

MJF leaders close to agreement; Yadav and Gachhadar both to become ministers

There has been an agreement between Madheshi Janadhikar Forum chairman Upendra Yadav and parliamentary party leader Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar on the issue of joining the government.
An agreement has been forged where both leaders will participate in the government. Chairman Yadav will lead the party’s team, while Gachhadar will take charge of a powerful ministry.
The agreement was reached according to the recommendations of the task force formed Saturday to name the ministerial candidates from the party and suggest solution to the ongoing feud between the two factions.
The agreement has not been officially announced as a meeting ongoing to select other ministers from the party.
Earlier, the two leaders were seen in the verge of split with both organising separate press conferences on Saturday.
Gachhadar had reportedly handed over the list of MJF's ministerial team, led by himself, to PM Nepal, while Yadav had said the party would withdraw its support to the government had that been the case.
Gachhadar, in response, had said the party would have to face an unfortunate incident if the support to the government was withdrawn

Santander To Rebrand Its UK Operations From 2010

Spanish bank Santander has decided to operate under a single brand name across 40 countries of the Europe, particularly in the UK. Following this decision the Abbey, Alliance & Leicester (A&L) and Bradford & Bingley savings (B&B) will be rebranded as Santander from the first quarter of 2010
Early in the second half of 2009, Abbey Credit Cards will be re-branded as Santander and all new cards will be issued under the Santander name, when they come up for renewal. However, for the specialised-market brands they retain the existing names. These include Abbey for Intermediaries, cahoot, Cater Allen, James Hay and the international businesses of Abbey, A&L and B&B.
One of the key drivers in implementing the brand change has been the switch to Santander’s global IT platform, Partenon. The change in the IT platform allows Santander to offer its full range of products across enlarged UK network. As a result, Santander customers in UK can transact in all its Santander branches.
Upon the completion of the change, 25 million customers can manage their finances in the 1,300 branches across the UK under Santander’s branch network irrespective of, whether they belong to Abbey, A&L or B&B network. Moreover, this will also allow the UK business to leverage the expertise and product developments from Santander’s global business.
António Horta-Osório, Chief Executive of Santander’s UK Businesses, said: “Since Santander acquired Abbey in November 2004, we have set about transforming the business to reflect Santander’s business model and values.