-The Hindu Business Line Direct bank transfers plug leakages in food distribution, ensure better nutritional security New Delhi: Irrespective of teething problems encountered in places where it was launched as pilot, direct cash transfers are far more effective than food subsidy in reducing food insecurity and nutritional imbalances among the Indian population, a new report has shown. Currently, India spends ?1,45,400 crore — about 1.3 per cent of its GDP — to give...

-The Hindu Paddy and sugarcane are India’s most water-guzzling crops — using up over half of the country’s total irrigation water resources — but procurement policies and water and power subsidies are skewing profitability and distorting crop decisions, says a recent study done by agricultural economist Ashok Gulati, and Gayathri Mohan. It has been published as a working paper by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). The ICRIER...

-The Hindu Business Line New Delhi: Giving direct income support (DIS) to farmers — similar to what Telangana recently launched — may be a better option than the price deficiency payment (PDP) scheme or higher minimum support price (MSP) to address farm distress, according to a new study. Paying higher MSP based on cost-plus pricing would lead to market distortion. PDP schemes such as Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana (BBY), which was in force...

-The Hindu Business Line This brings higher returns; govt must spend more on R&D, roads: ICRIER paper New Delhi: Spending on agricultural research and development, including extension services, is at least 10 times more effective in reducing poverty than spending on fertiliser or power subsidies, an ongoing study has shown. Spending ?10 lakh on agricultural R&D can help lift 328 people out of poverty, whereas allocating the same for fertiliser or power subsidies...

-Economic and Political Weekly The platform known as the JAM Trinity (an acronym for Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and mobile numbers) may enable a shift from the current Public Distribution System, based on price subsidies, to the direct transfer of benefits. However, it is incorrect to argue that JAM technologies will necessarily lead to the demise of the PDS. State-level experiences of computerisation, recounted here, reveal that the same technologies can...