-The Telegraph There are enormous questions about implementation, and the first issue is that of identifying the farmers Everyone expected the narendra modi government to do something big — or at least promise something big — before the general elections. Everyone also sensed that it would be something to do with farmers, one of the economic and social concerns that have now also become a political talking point. But perhaps no one...

-Newsclick.in Income support should not lead to the State washing its hands of the poor after handing them a certain sum of money whose real value too would dwindle over time. With Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s announcement recently at Raipur that his party had taken a “historic decision” to introduce an income guarantee scheme for the poor, and with the general anticipation that the narendra modi government’s last budget will also announce...

-Down to Earth Lack of land records, poor Aadhar-linkage can cap disbursement at Rs 3,500 cr this financial year The narendra modi government may have to be content spending less than a fifth of what it allocated for its much-touted Pradhan Mandhri KIsan SAmman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) for whatever remains of the current financial year. The lack of detailed land records and gaps in Aadhar-linkages for bank accounts can be major roadblocks. Union minister...

-The Indian Express Interim budget does little to tackle unemployment, poverty. And it is clear that the government’s figures cannot be trusted. Last month, I was part of an all-party delegation of MPs from Karnataka, led by a Union cabinet minister, who met the Union rural development minister. We requested him to release the MGNREGA funds overdue to Karnataka. We pleaded that the poorest of the poor, who turn to MGNREGA...

-The Hindu The Interim Budget makes clear the class hierarchy in the Modi government’s scheme of populism Interim Budget 2019 has sought to make amends for all the wrongs of almost five years of the narendra modi government. For example, the debilitating impact of demonetisation on the informal sector that employs nearly 90% of the workforce had long been suspected on the basis of anecdotal evidence. The findings of the National Sample...