-Newsclick.in The Narendra Modi government has carried the practice of making low budgetary allocations for MGNREGS to its limit. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme or MGNREGS was introduced by the United Progressive Alliance-I government despite opposition from the neo-liberal lobby within it, owing inter alia to the active intervention of the Left, which was supporting that government from outside. The scheme was restrictive from the beginning: it promised a maximum...

-The Hindu Why are farm unions seeking a minimum support price for all crops? What are the terms of the committee set up to look into their demands? The story so far: After a year-long agitation on the borders of Delhi, protesting farm unions under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha have achieved their headline demand, namely the repeal of three contentious laws seeking to reform the storage and marketing of...

-MoneyControl.com The Narendra Modi government expected demonetisation to extinguish at least Rs 3-4 lakh crore of black money. However, RBI data show that 99% of the money that was invalidated came into the banking system. Meanwhile fresh seizures of black money continue. On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared on national television and said that all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes would become invalid at midnight. The announcement at...

-Press release by Peoples' Action for Employment Guarantee dated 3rd November 2021 About 8 crore NREGA payments are pending as on November 3, 2021 according to Report 8.1.1 of the NREGA Management Information System (MIS). This means, for nearly 5 crore workers across the country this will be a Kali Diwali. Following the raging debate about NREGA funds running out with 5 months remaining, the People’s Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG)...

One is almost certain to hear this from an economist that if something is available at free of cost or at a subsidised rate thanks to government intervention, then people tend to overuse or overconsume such goods/ commodities. So, the best solution is to create a market for such 'almost freely available' or 'highly subsidised' goods or commodities. Once people start paying to use or consume such goods/ commodities, they...