-Newsclick.in It should worry everybody that a section of media recast ground realities to make them seem less despite panic and despair during the second wave. When the second wave of the pandemic was raging through India in April and May, at least one Indian was dying of Covid-19 every 30 seconds [since 28 April 2021]. India set a new record for the highest number of daily new infections and deaths. A...

-Down to Earth Half of respondents said their government was not doing enough to achieve SDGs Poverty, hunger and public health have been much stressed upon by development agencies. But now, amid the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, they have drawn the attention of the global financial community. The world’s top priorities today should be maintaining a healthy population along with reducing poverty and hunger, according to a new poll by market research...

-The Telegraph Poverty research pioneer cites US, UK and EU experience; Niti Aayog vice-chairman disagrees, says there’s no guarantee ‘helicopter money’ will lead to spending Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee has stepped up to the firing line by arguing the government should make bigger direct cash payments under the MGNREGA scheme to help people who have slid into poverty due to the pandemic. The government has already indicated it’s not keen on larger direct...

In his Mann ki Baat address to the nation on 30th May, 2021, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi appreciated the fact that the farmers received "more than the minimum support price (MSP) for mustard" pertaining to the rabi production. One can easily guess from this statement of the PM that the mustard growers in Haryana (and elsewhere) preferred to sell their produce to private traders in the open market instead...

-TheIndiaForum.in Anurag Mehra teaches engineering and policy at IIT Bombay. His policy focus is the interface between technology, culture, and politics. The shallow form of schooling with its emphasis on information kills rather than develops curiosity and creativity, all made worse by the importance given to 'marks' recorded in exams. An overhaul is needed but not one driven by digital delusions. Policymakers seem to have a deep love for the word 'innovation'. The...