-Hindustan Times Better health and education facilities, and expansion of old age pension and insurance must follow to improve the socio-economic status of the people . A battle cry of the Congress in the current election is the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (Nyay), which promises Rs 6,000 per month to the poorest 20% of the households. Some have questioned its rationale. Others have questioned its feasibility. Still others have been laudatory about it....

-Livemint.com * Access to electricity is associated with significant improvement in women empowerment, finds a new study * Women's bargaining power increases by 7-10 percentage points because of electrification, says the study Mumbai: In the five years of the Narendra Modi government, India has witnessed near-universal electrification, though the quality of power supply remains sub-standard. Addressing the supply challenge as demand for electricity rapidly increases will be key not only for India’s economic growth...

-The Telegraph Some clauses of the draft of the Indian Forest Act 2019 are extraordinarily undemocratic Forests are considered planetary resources of great importance: as carbon sinks, as repositories for biodiversity, as effective tools for local climate control, and as a source of timber and related produce. Forests have been dwelling places for people, too. It is important from the point of view of sustainable development that forests be preserved and biodiversity...

-Newsclick.in In an interview, the ‘father’ of India’s Green Revolution, says while technology is necessary, policies on procurement and public distribution are far more important in making agriculture economically viable and sustainable in the country. No one has played a more instrumental role in India’s self-sufficiency in food production than Dr MS Swaminathan — world-renowned agricultural scientist, known as the ‘Father of Green Revolution in India’. After getting a PhD from Cambridge...

-Livemint.com In conversation with Guy Standing, economist at the School Of Oriental and African Studies, University of London Neither the Narendra Modi government nor Rahul Gandhi have gotten minimum income scheme right, he says New Delhi: Income support is the big economic idea of the season. While the ruling BJP government announced a limited money transfer scheme targeted at farmers in the recent interim budget, the Congress has proposed to solve the country’s...