-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Demonetisation Demon will gouge India's economic growth in 2016-17 by at least half a percentage point, chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian told reporters after presenting the Economic Survey a day before the budget. Subramanian, who was voicing his views for the first time on the deeply polarising subject of demonetisation, rejected the dire prophecies of other Oracles, including his former employer, the International Monetary Fund, that projected...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: India's public spending on health is about five times lower than the world average, the Economic Survey released today has said, adding the country lacks good models of health care for replication nationwide. The survey, in a section on social sector expenditure trends, has pointed out that the government's annual expenditure on health was 1.2 per cent of the gross domestic product in 2013-14, 1.1 per cent in...

-Business Standard The organisations demanded higher budgetary allocation for irrigation Some farmers’ organisations have demanded the Centre announce an income guarantee law for them to ensure a minimum income when crops fail and also when PRIces crash due to a bumper harvest. To be called the Remunerative and Universal PRIce Yield Assurance (RUPYA) Act, the legislation would guarantee a PRIce deficiency payment in the event of a PRIce crash, a market intervention scheme...

-The Hindu Business Line Rising pest attacks are mounting pressure on cotton farmers even as PRIces play truant. Rajeshbhai Patel is not amused. The farmer in Kadi, northern Gujarat grew cotton on four bigha in this year’s kharif season, instead of 11 in 2016. He had reduced the acreage fearing increasing costs owing to pests attacks. But as cotton PRIces rule at unusually high levels in the ongoing harvest season, he...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Economic Survey has recommended that biometric tracking of teachers' attendance be introduced in government PRImary schools and the data monitored by parents and local communities. The Survey has cited the low-learning outcome of children in government schools and linked it to teacher absenteeism and shortage of professionally qualified teachers. According to the UNESCO- EFA (Education For All) Monitoring Report for 2014, teacher absenteeism in India varies between 15...