-The Business Standard Expenses such as employment guarantees and loan waivers are, in effect, subsidies that are classified differently in government accounts Over the last few years, the government announced many policy initiatives that purportedly help the weaker sections of our society. Schemes initiated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) or the distribution of free and affordable food items under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) are examples...

-Outlook The Centre is mulling a plan to extend more financial incentives for its employees for acquiring advanced educational qualifications while in service. The Ministry of Personnel has sought suggestions from all central government departments in this regard. As per the existing scheme, an employee gets a maximum of Rs 10,000 for acquiring a Post Graduate degree in computer science, information technology or veterinary science, or for a Ph.D, post his or her...

-PTI NEW DELHI: To boost research and innovation, 12 states will receive Rs 120 crore each under Rashtriya Uchchatara Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) programme which seeks to improve quality of Higher education. The funds, sanctioned under the research, innovation and quality improvement component, will support research programmes like base research, key technology (R&D), high-end (R&D), etc during the current Five Year Plan. The innovative programmes will be funded as per the decision of RUSA's...

-The Business Standard The structural changes in India's rural workforce Seldom in the past has the country's labour market gone through structural changes faster than it has in recent years. Apart from a sharp decline in the proportion of workers employed in agriculture, the perceptible withdrawal of women from the workforce is the most striking feature of India's labour market. Going by the numbers the census and the National Sample Survey Office...

-PTI Soaring inflation, high fuel cost, rising cost of education and health insurance premiums have eroded the real incomes of middle-class Indian families, with household savings rates dropping by a staggering 40 per cent in the last three years, says an Assocham survey. "Poor households are unable to maintain the consumption levels at current prices while middle income families find their purchasing power erode fast, thus having far less surplus money," Assocham...