-The Indian Express The suffering of millions does not create public outrage, much less government accountability. The people of India’s villages carry collective memories of centuries of calamitous losses of sometimes millions of lives in famines. Famines have been pushed into history, unarguably one of free India’s greatest accomplishments. But the same can’t be said about droughts, which continue to extract an enormous toll on human suffering. At least a third of the...

-The Hindu It is the Supreme Court and not Parliament that has found time to pay attention to serious issues of drought relief and mitigation for hundreds of millions of Indians Irony. This one word captures our response to the ongoing nationwide drought in more ways than one. We have woken up to the reality of drought a full six months after the end of monsoon. After waking up, we focus on...

-The Hindu India’s record in collecting taxes has been pathetic, and it is getting worse. The declining rates of direct taxation are an indication of the political choices of the government We now have a peculiar combination in the economic policy of India: a declared attempt at fiscal consolidation, combined with a reluctance to do what it takes to raise tax revenues. This unfortunate juxtaposition has meant a squeeze on Central government...

-Livemint.com Ministries handling drinking water and sanitation, rural development, land resources, and urban development asked to take up an integrated action plan New Delhi: Streamlining measures to tackle the drought in the country, the centre directed on Monday different ministries to release additional funds to states. Cabinet secretary P.K. Sinha directed the ministries—drinking water and sanitation, rural development, land resources and urban development—to take up an integrated action plan for optimally using...

-Outlook Though the Modi government claims 33 states and Union Territories are implementing NFSA,​ the facts on the ground ​are very different. Millions wait for proper identification and delivery of the promised highly subsidized foodgrains even as hunger stares at some of the extremely poor households Three years after the National Food Security Act (NFSA) was enacted it appears crores of poor who were to be provided food grains to keep hunger and...