-The Indian Express Social policy is in danger of getting lost in electoral histrionics. As the country inches towards parliamentary elections, a deep confusion pervades the realm of social policy. When the Narendra Modi government came to power five years ago, there were high expectations of a rollback in welfare schemes. The previous government, so went the story, had gone overboard with social spending, and Modi would set this right. In...

-The Indian Express The Centre plans to transfer Rs 4,000 to small and marginal farmers under the PM-Kisan scheme by the first week of April, well before the Lok Sabha polls start. The transfer of Rs 2,000 to the bank accounts of farmers will commence from February 24 under the income support scheme and preparations are on to cover as high as 1 crore farmers on the first day of the...

-Scroll.in The government’s choice of partners has raised concerns. In June 2018, the Andhra Pradesh government announced an ambitious programme to bring all 80 lakh hectares of its cultivable land under agroecological farming by 2024. Agroecology emphasises minimising external, artificial inputs by using resources available in the local ecosystem so as to make farming sustainable and environment-friendly. Called Andhra Pradesh Climate Resilient Zero Budget Natural Farming, the programme seeks to wean away 60...

-Frontline.in Hidden in the Modi government’s Budget promises to India’s farmers, who are in distress, is the admission: we have failed you. No section of society has perhaps fared worse under the Narendra Modi regime than small peasants and agricultural labourers. Rural India, particularly peasants, voted in large numbers for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2014. Once in power, the NDA government promised to double the incomes...

-The Hindu To allow a person to exit Aadhaar on reaching 18 The government will seek legal counsel on whether it can delete the biometric data of young people who choose to quit Aadhaar once they turn 18, UIDAI CEO and Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey told The Hindu. The Union Cabinet recently approved amendments to the Aadhaar Act, including a provision that gives a child, on attaining maturity (18 years), the power...