Quite often it is argued by mainstream economists that a sizeable chunk of the Union Budget every year is wasted because the Government spends that on food and fertiliser subsidies. The burgeoning size of these two subsidies relative to the entire budget as well as the gross domestic product (GDP) is often used to build the argument that economic as well as environmental sustainability of the country is at stake...
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Can raising the approved labour budget from 280.76 crore person-days to 306.6 crore person-days help the unskilled returnee migrants who prefer MGNREGA to Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan?
Although social activists and concerned economists demanded at least Rs. 1 lakh crore to be earmarked in favour of the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the Finance Minister in her budget speech on 1st February allocated only Rs.61,500 crore to it for the financial year 2020-21. As compared to the fund spent on MGNREGA in 2019-20 (i.e. revised estimate of Rs.71,001.81 crore), the amount set aside for the...
More »The ugly face of Okhla gets a green lift, landfill to be eco park -Paras Singh
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: After years of existing as a repulsive mound of festering garbage, the landfill at Okhla has got a look that is more attractive. One face of the stabilised landfill has finally been “greened” and the capping work continues on the other sides. When the work is over, the overused landfill will get a new avatar as an ecopark. Tufail Ahmed, the engineer in charge of the...
More »Cities at crossroads: Federalism for the city -Isher Judge Ahluwalia
-The Indian Express In his second term, Prime Minister Modi can ensure better urbanisation through greater devolution of power, and finances, to urban local bodies. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins his second term with an even larger political mandate, it is time to reflect on what should be the priorities in fixing our cities. The scale of the challenge is massive whether we look at the availability of clean drinking...
More »Kumbh brought Allahabad to verge of an epidemic, says NGT -Banjot Kaur
-Down to Earth The tribunal has asked UP chief secretary to immediately act on the mismanaged solid waste from the pilgrimage Both the governments, at the Centre and Uttar Pradesh, claimed to have organised a 'swachh' — clean — Kumbh in the winter of 2018-19, but the National Green Tribunal seems to differ. In fact, the quasi judicial body rang alarm bells on Aprill 22, 2019 about host city Allahabad being on...
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