-The Hindu The country’s hybrid seed model for cotton favours seed companies over farmers Genetically Modified (GM) pest resistant Bt cotton hybrids have captured the Indian market since their introduction in 2002. These now cover over 95% of the area under cotton, with the seeds produced entirely by the private sector. India’s cotton production in 2019 is projected as the highest ever: 354 lakh bales. Bt cotton’s role in increasing India’s cotton...

-The Indian Express To get the engine of the economy revving, an expansionary fiscal policy that harnesses the energy of the informal sector to boost aggregate demand is the order of the day. That India is in the midst of a serious economic slowdown is no longer in question. The debates are now mostly about what to do about it: Whether to opt for a fiscal expansion to boost demand or to...

-Down to Earth Activists voice concern about some recommendations by panel The subject of ‘health’ must be transferred to the Concurrent List of the Indian Constitution from the State List, the high level group (HLG) formed for the health sector by the 15th Finance Commission has said. Since issues like medical education and family planning fall under the concurrent list, health also should, the panel said in a report submitted recently to...

-Livemint.com MGNREGS could alleviate rural distress but, in its current form, its overall impact on the rural economy is limited in scope With rural distress deepening across India and private consumption growing anaemically, calls for ramping up the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), are growing louder ahead of the upcoming budget. Proponents of MGNREGS believe that it may be the only ammunition in the government’s arsenal to fight rural...

-The Indian Express There are many things that the government can do to improve ease of doing business for kisan and industry. The budget season is upon us, with a flurry of submissions being made to the finance minister from all quarters. The budget itself could result in a fine-tuning of tax rates and allocation adjustments against various expenditure heads/ministries. There are implications from these for all sectors. And no less...