-The Financial Express As cuts in social sector spending in the forthcoming Union Budget are widely anticipated, the focus will be on two of the biggest flagship schemes - the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, both with individually high Budget Allocations. MGNREGA, launched by the Congress-led UPA government in 2006, has been in the midst of controversy this year, with the NDA government being accused...

-The Hindu Business Line Outstanding subsidy bills for the fertiliser sector will exceed ₹40,000 crore by March, according to the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI). Domestic urea manufacturers are the hardest hit with dues amounting to ₹30,000 crore. The industry also sent an ‘SOS' to the Finance Minister appealing to intervene and institute a Special Banking Arrangement to help tide of the liquidity crisis facing fertiliser manufacturers. "While the domestic urea industry is...

-The Hindu In the present state of the economy, when there is excess capacity in manufacturing, adequate stocks of foodgrain and the inflation rate is trending downwards, there is an opportune moment for a public investment-centred fiscal expansion Over the past eight months, the government has issued some strong statements on the economy and taken some bold steps aimed at transforming it. As it prepares to present its first real budget we...

-The Indian Express I recently witnessed protests in Berlin, against industrialised farming and the planned free-trade agreement between the European Union and the United States, under the banner "We Are Fed Up". Trade issues resonate across Europe, but in India, farmers are oblivious to the inevitable consequences of trade agreements. However, the government seems keen to address issues related to farmers. Yet, success on the farm front can be delusional if...

-The Indian Express The finance minister plans to scrap the supply of subsidised kerosene through the public distribution system (PDS) and high time, too. To begin with, why has the kerosene subsidy needed reform for decades and yet reform never materialised? Kerosene obtained through the PDS, being cheaper, is used to adulterate diesel and petrol. Kerosene leakages in the PDS are estimated to be 40 per cent of total allocations. The diversion...