-The Indian Express Budget needs to ramp up spending on health and education. Pandemic has enhanced inequalities, shown up absence of safety nets. India is committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, and social sector development is important in reaching them. Progress in this sector has intrinsic (for its own sake) and instrumental (for higher growth) value. It is needed even to build a $5 trillion economy faster. Inequalities...

-The Telegraph The inadequate sanctioning of schemes across gram panchayats hinders operations, thereby reducing employment opportunities The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act tracker released by the People’s Action for Employment Guarantee as well as a research report presented by LibTech India reveal why the rural job programme has not been able to cater to the needs of the poorest during this steep rural job crisis. Earlier, a survey by the Azim...

-Down to Earth The use of synthetic chemicals for agriculture was halted completely in 2005 by the Union territory Lakshadweep, after Sikkim, is on its way to become 100 per cent organic. The Union territory’s agriculture department had submitted a proposal to the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, seeking to declare its entire 32 square kilometre geographical land area as organic. The proposal was approved October 26, 2020 after receiving required certifications...

-Down to Earth Shaibal Gupta, social scientist at Asian Development Research Institute, spoke to DTE on Bihar polls and its national importance It is D-day after the first election in India amid the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The process of counting the votes cast in the Bihar Assembly elections started November 10, 2020 morning. But an increased number of electronic voting machines have slowed the process down and only about a...

-The Hindu There is a strong case to attribute a more robust responsibility to platform companies and the State The Code on Social Security Bill, 2020, for the first time in Indian law, attempted to define ‘platform work’ outside of the traditional employment category. It says: “Platform work means a work arrangement outside of a traditional employer-employee relationship in which organisations or individuals use an online platform to access other organisations or...