-Down to Earth Jean Dreze on why he prefers a solidarity society, rather than a welfare state * Are you actually an advocate of the welfare state? Ideally, I would prefer to think in terms of a solidarity society rather than welfare state, for two reasons. First, private non-profit institutions can play a very useful role in the social sector. In many countries, some of the best schools and health centres are run...

-The Indian Express As Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath hits the road for civic polls, The Indian Express travels across the state to track the change he’s brought. Lucknow: Barely 500 m from the half-samadhi half-mazaar that is the monument to poet Kabir, Mohammad Asad tells a story about the growing number of abandoned cattle in the Maghar kasba of Sant Kabir Nagar in eastern Uttar Pradesh. “A truck comes here at...

-The Hindu Business Line Individuals are unable to modify present behaviour for future, collective gains. Wrong policies exacerbate this tendency The thick pall of smoke and noxious gases engulfing Delhi is an ecological catastrophe. Reflective of a very serious failure of governance, it is also reminiscent of another serious malaise afflicting our society. This relates to the gross misuse of common resources. One of the first persons to reflect upon this kind of environmental...

-The Hindu Business Line Price double in key wholesale markets; Consumer Affairs Ministry suggests floor price for exports New Delhi/Mumbai: To check spiralling prices of onions and ease supplies, the Centre has decided to import 2,000 tonnes of onions through the State-owned MMTC while two other agencies, Nafed and SFAC, will source 12,000 tonnes locally, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has said. A floor price of $700 per tonne on...

-TheWire A recent article claimed that the Modi government has significantly improved or tweaked the implementation of various schemes started by the UPA-II administration. But the numbers quoted need to be questioned. The Wire recently published an article titled ‘Modi May Have Repackaged 23 UPA Schemes But Most of them Are Working Better Now’. The authors’ main thesis is that even if the names of the government schemes have been changed or...