-The Indian Express The problem is under-employment. It won’t be resolved if the residually-employed are notionally shifted from the informal to formal sector. In an article in January, Soumya Kanti Ghosh and Pulak Ghosh (Ghosh and Ghosh) claimed that seven million new jobs have Been created in the formal sector. Their claim is based on the increase in registration under the Employees Provident Fund (EPFO), National Pension Scheme and Employees State Insurance...

-The Indian Express Government must be circumspect about Cauvery dispute resolution mechanism. The government has Been wise in not pressing the panic button on the Cauvery. In fact, the concept of a Cauvery Board is a flawed one. Lawyers normally have a limited understanding of water issues. We have a lot of experience in India of tribunals delaying projects for decades. Some experts have suggested highly centralised systems of dispute resolution...

-Business Standard From occupying 3% of all sugarcane area in the state in 2012-13, the variety that now covers 52% New Delhi: India’s sugar sector is staring at an unprecedented glut, with production topping 31 million tonnes. Sugar is suddenly tasting bitter as mills are finding it difficult to pay sugarcane farmers in the politically sensitive state of Uttar Pradesh. At the heart of the surplus lies a new variety of sugarcane called CO-0238,...

-IANS Mumbai: The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has so far splurged a whooping Rs 4,343.26 crore only for advertisements and publicity through different media, it has Been revealed under RTI, an activist said here on Monday. Mumbai-based RTI activist Anil Galgali had sought details from the centre's Bureau of Outreach and Communication (BOC) on all spend on advertisement and publicity in all media since the present government assumed office. The replies...

-Livemint.com Investments in irrigation, combined with better-quality seeds, can dramatically improve returns to farming Global attention has Been devoted to water scarcity and its effect on Indian farmers. However, new analysis from Indian researchers suggests that far more good could come if irrigation were combined with seed improvement. Tata Trusts and Copenhagen Consensus have commissioned new research by noted experts from India and around the world, looking at measures that would help Indian...