-The Hindu Business Line Demographic trends tell us that the working age population will continue to rise till 2040 Jobs, employment and unemployment are some of the words which have dominated the public and political debates in India in recent years. In the just concluded State elections also this issue was in prominence. For a study on ‘Demographic Dividend in India’, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) carried out population projections up to...

-The Hindu Business Line Tech must be used in a big way to ensure ryots get compensated quickly, says National Insurance Academy’s Srinivasan Changing rainfall patterns, droughts, flooding and geographical redistribution of pests and diseases have posed a major challenge before Indian agriculture. With the impact of climate change looming large on agricultural productivity, the insurance sector has a big role to play. However, the implementation of crop insurance scheme is mired...

-Livemint.com If you want to give a cash benefit, do it without distinguishing between farmers and non-farmers A toothless NITI Aayog is trying to flex its muscles on India’s statistical system. And in doing so, it is destroying its credibility NEW DELHI: The income support scheme announced in the interim budget for small and marginal farmers is both regressive and inefficient, because it neither includes the poorest landless farmers, nor does it...

-The Indian Express I think packaging a significant UBIS with a simultaneous increase in the taxes on the rich will help macro-economic stability, apart from assuaging the poor who will face some of the price rise in commodities or services, when subsidies are withdrawn. After my last op-ed in this paper (The safety net of the future) several readers, intrigued by the idea of a Universal Basic Income Supplement (UBIS) proposed...

-The Indian Express The 2017 Economic Survey had flagged the UBI scheme as “a conceptually appealing idea” and a possible alternative to social welfare programmes targeted at reducing poverty. With its legislation on a 10 per cent quota for the general category poor in jobs and education getting parliamentary backing in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led government is now exploring the possibility of providing direct benefit transfers...