A coalition of civil society activits has criticized the Union Budget 2023-24 for reducing government spending on the social sector by a massive amount. The economic crisis induced by the Covid-19 pandemic was borne disproportionately by those at the bottom of the pyramid and in this context spending on social protection schemes such as the Public Distribution System, anganwadis, pensions and MGNREGA is especially important. But the Government of India has...

Accountability Initiative, Centre for Policy Research Budget 2023-24 will be unveiled on February 1. As part of laying the context this brief, prepared by the Accountability Initiative, examines the allocation and expenditure trends for India's food subsidy.    At the start of the current Financial Year (FY) 2022-23, Government of India allocations for Food Subsidy stood at Rs. 2,06,831 crore, which was 28 percent lower than the previous year's Revised Estimates (REs)....

-Scroll.in Increasing unemployment is a major cause for concern. Politicians constantly talk about India being a young country, since two-thirds of the population is under 35 years of age and half of it below 26. Some economists consider this an automatic boon for the economy, since there is a limitless number of workers who could contribute to India’s productive capacity. Finance and investment giant Morgan Stanley, in a report released in November, identified...

-The Hindu The general elections are expected to be held in March-April 2024 and the completion of both the phases of census will take at least 11 months, even if done at accelerated pace from October, there by ruling out the possibility of census happening anytime in 2023 and early 2024. The decennial census exercise has been postponed till September, at least, as the government informed States that the date of freezing...

The World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2022, released in December 2022, provides its readers a plethora of useful statistics and data across the countries pertaining to agriculture and food security. The yearbook by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) primarily covers four themes -- Economic Dimensions of Agriculture; Production, Trade and Prices of Commodities; Food Security and Nutrition; and Sustainability and Environmental Aspects of Agriculture.  While going through the report,...