-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Niti Aayog, the government's thinktank, has strongly backed taxing of agricultural income above a certain threshold and removal of exemptions on Personal Income tax as part of a strategy to expand the tax base and prevent evasion. There is a view within the thinktank that the blanket relief on agricultural income was aimed at protecting farmers, but it was being misused by many non-farmers who...

-Business Standard Not only is your privacy stripped stark naked, the system itself is illegal and vulnerable Indians have serious red tape PTSD. We live with chronic anxiety about the documents that get us the entitlements and paid services we need — food, cooking gas, SIM cards, sale deeds, passports and so on. We’re so tyrannised by bureaucracy that when we hear of an official document that might simplify life, we fall...

-The Indian Express Supreme Court must urgently hear and settle issues of privacy and exclusion raised in the context of the UID project Coercion, illegality, contempt of court and exclusion have become characteristics by which people recognise the UID project. It started with its use in PDS and LPG, but, by now, has spread like a contagion to all manner of databases. In just the last 20 days, the government has...

-TheWire.in In Gujarat’s Chhota Udaipur, MNREGA has helped villagers increase their earnings, improved connectivity in the area and led to higher farm yields. In the ubiquitous environment of the withdrawal of the welfare state across the globe, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in India stands out as a critical and unique intervention. MNREGA is a social safety net that guarantees 100 days of employment to every rural household...

-Hindustan Times The government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are set to bring out tougher norms for cooperative banks, which have come under scanner for alleged discrepancies and irregularities in the wake of the demonetisation drive. According to a recent report by the income tax department, most banks have indulged in money laundering after the Narendra Modi government announced ban on high-value bank notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 from...