-Newsclick.in Unemployment has inched up to over 9% as the year ends and the so-called economic recovery is a mirage. For Indians, 2020 will go down in history as the worst year for livelihoods and incomes. Unemployment levels rose to record highs, incomes plummeted to record lows and such was the scale of deprivation that thousands of families teetered on the brink of starvation. Tragically, this was not just the pandemic. It...

-Livemint.com The amount released this week was the 6th installment of such funds provided to the States The Finance Ministry has released the weekly installment of ₹6,000 crore to the States to meet the GST compensation shortfall on Wednesday. Out of this, an amount of ₹5,516.60 crore has been released to 23 States and an amount of ₹483.40 crore has been released to the 3 Union Territories with Legislative Assembly (Delhi, Jammu &...

-The Indian Express Post 2014, two centralisations — of political and economic power — continue to reinforce each other, with profound consequences for the country and potential to define popular narrative in days ahead. The return of single-party dominance and its implications for politics after nearly 25 years of minority/coalition governments at the Centre (December 1989-April 2014) has been widely commented upon. As have concerns over rising corporate market power and their...

-The Hindu Discontent over the new farm laws is a result of sidestepping debate and discussion in Parliament The ongoing farmers’ agitation epitomises the need to have detailed discussions and consultations while making law and policy. The process of building consensus and addressing concerns may be time-consuming, but it leads to greater acceptance of policy objectives. While such work has to be done at multiple levels, Parliament is perhaps the most important...

-The Telegraph Three states — Punjab, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh — have not accepted the proposals yet Bengal and Kerala have dropped their opposition to the Centre’s borrowing option to bridge the gap in the Goods and Services Tax revenue receipts. The two states have opted for the limited borrowing option under which the Centre will borrow funds and pass them on to the states but the debt will be recognised in the balance...