-Frontline.thehindu.com Though not the only solution to rural unemployment, it is an important social security measure. Soon after becoming Prime Minister, Narendra Modi mocked the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Parliament and called it a monumental failure of the United Progressive Alliance government. Interestingly, he added that he would not end the scheme but would keep it alive as a symbol of the Congress’ inability to address poverty. Five...

-TheWire.in States like Delhi (despite its unique multi-party governance architecture), West Bengal, Kerala (or even Goa and Sikkim) perform better compared to UP when it comes to being measured for securing access to basic social, economic services. In a veiled attack against BJP’s political opponents, accusing them of promising ‘freebies’ (revdi) in exchange for electoral votes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday cautioned people, especially the youth, against this “revdi culture”, saying...

-TheWire.in There is little doubt that the practice of handing out freebies undermines both democracy and development. But the problem doesn't lie just with the opposition. Constitutional authorities in India have recently spoken about key challenges the country is facing. The Chief Justice of India (CJI) has said that there is “diminishing” space for the opposition, that there was no longer any mutual respect between the Union government and the opposition, and that...

-The Telegraph Union Territory administration orders all schools to comply with a two-month-old Supreme Court order restoring meat to menu Bangalore: Beef and chicken are set to return to the midday meals for Lakshadweep’s schoolchildren, with the Union Territory administration on Friday ordering all schools to comply with a two-month-old Supreme Court order restoring meat to the menu. The archipelago administration had banned meat from the midday meals sometime after Praful Khoda Patel...

-Down to Earth The Union government's claim about being on track to double farmers' income sounds hollow as it has not even spent the allocated budget for agrarian schemes in three of the past five years  On February 28, 2016 Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to double farmers’ income by 2022-23—his gift to the country in its 75th year of independence. In the six years since then, the Union government has not...