-The Hindustan Times As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his team pull out all stops to  shake off criticism of policy paralysis with a string of reform measures, rising prices and sliding growth continue to remain key worries. A Hindustan Times survey, one of the largest of its kind covering 28,395 respondents across 13 cities, shows nearly two in three (62.7%) of the people surveyed said that high food prices were hurting...

-Live Mint Charges that NREGA has pushed up agricultural wages fails to account for changing productivity In the debate over the costs and benefits of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), one of the most controversial and unsettled issues is its effect on agricultural labour market. Last year, Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar even went to the extent of recommending a 50% subsidy to farmers in wage costs due...

-The Indian Express After 14 years, the Central government has held the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat constant at last year’s Rs 1,285 per quintal. There is, of course, still no guarantee that the price will not be changed if major producer states like Punjab and Haryana raise objections. But for now, the UPA government’s newly discovered zeal to push through another reform is heartening. It may also be useful...

-The Financial Express Mumbai: On Tuesday, the RBI said the path of inflation will be shaped by two sets of counteracting forces. On the downside, slower growth and excess capacity in some sectors will help moderate core inflation. “Stable, or in the best case scenario, declining commodity prices will reinforce this tendency. An appreciating rupee will also help to contain inflationary pressures by bringing down the rupee cost of imports, especially of...

-The Business Standard The rural jobs scheme can boost productivity in farm and textiles sector. There is mounting evidence that Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) of 2005, under which 100 days of guaranteed wage employment a year was to be provided to target households, is failing to meet its stated objectives. The total cumulative expenditure since 2005 under the MGNREGA is officially estimated to be Rs 1,50,000 crore, and the...