-The Telegraph The get together is no longer confined to Muslims, people across communities are coming together to spread message of camaraderie The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. - Richard Bach Kolkata: Put aside the incendiary remarks by hate mongers. Ignore the ones who thrive on divisiveness. When it comes to the festive season, it is all about throwing...

-The Hindu What is the Opposition-ruled States’ stand on reduction of value added tax to bring down petrol prices?  The story so far: Petrol is retailing at more than ₹100 per litre across India. While rising crude oil prices have added to the burden, the primary reason behind the steep increase in pump fuel prices over the last few years is the gradually rising Central Government's excise duty component. Currently, for every...

-Deccan Herald What the 2020 annual Periodic Labour Force Survey data reveals is that the situation remains grim The Covid-19 pandemic has only worsened what was already a joblessness crisis in early 2020. The third annual labour force survey (2019-20) by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), covering the period till June 30, 2020, told a grim story. Earlier, the NSSO had in 2017-18 reported that open unemployment had reached a 45-year...

-Financial Express Dataset and methodological weaknesses cast doubt on recent poverty estimates that claim drastic reduction Bhalla, Bhasin and Virmani in a working paper (IMF), claimed India’s poverty, per a $1.9 per person per day poverty line (at PPP), was 0.9% of the population in 2020. Thanks to government transfer of free rations of 5 kg per person month, it fell to 0.8% (from 0.9% in 2019). Roy and de Velt, for...

-Outlook India Better prices luring Indian farmers to sell their produce to private traders for sale in the global markets. Should India need to worry? One man’s loss is another man’s gain. And here, in a rare circumstance, the Indian farmers seem to be on the gaining side. First, the Centre had to bow in front of the community and revoke its three farm laws, and now, because of the Russia-Ukraine war,...