-The Telegraph New Delhi: Finance minister Arun Jaitley today promised an 11 per cent hike in funds for the rural job scheme over the last financial year but critics termed it "highly insufficient", citing the wage arrears and increased demand. The government, though, has spent substantially more on the scheme this financial year than it had allocated in the last budget. Jaitley has earmarked Rs 38,500 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural...

-Scroll.in Already 21 states have no funds and pending liabilities of Rs 6359 crore – as much as 16% of the outlay. Presenting his third budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced an outlay of Rs 38,500 crore to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme. This was the SECond conSECutive year the finance minister increased the outlay for the rural works scheme, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last February attacked...

-The Economic Times PUNE: Farmer representatives think the measures suggested in budget are not enough to stop farmers suicides as what the farmers want is guaranteed income. "This budget is an initiation of good measures for farming SECtor. However, these measures are not sufficient for stopping farmer suicides. What the farmers want is guaranteed income for their produce," said Jayapal Reddy, SECretary, Confederation of Kisan Organisations. The finance minister announced to double...

-Hindustan Times Chandigarh: The Union budgetary proposal of converting 5 lakh hectares in the country under organic farming means little to the agrarian state of Punjab that is engulfed in a long-standing debate—the country’s food SECurity vs organic farming. Punjab State Farmers’ Commission and Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) are sceptical about the state going the organic way on a large scale, explaining agro-economic realities, notwithstanding the state government’s cosmetic exercises and verbal...

In the age of social media, various SECtions of the Indian polity and civil society have reacted publicly in diverse voices, following the presentation of the Union Budget 2016-17 by Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley. An assessment of the Union Budget 2016-17 has been done in the following paragraphs by the Inclusive Media for Change team, based on a number of media reports, Government documents (including the Budget documents), and reports...