-Scroll.in India’s first chief statistician, Pronab Sen, is now country director of the International Growth Centre, which seeks to build effective growth facilities through engagement between policymakers and researchers. In this interview to Scroll.in, he speaks on the 50 days of demonetisation, its failings, its severe impact on the poor, the loss of credibility of the Reserve Bank of India, the push to make India a cashless or less-cash economy, and...
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Demonetisation: How the cash crisis can be used to tame rural commercial capital -Pravesh Sharma
-The Indian Express These enterprises — whom she broadly categorises as ‘rural commercial capital’ — enjoy privileged access to formal credit networks. In her insightful study of the working of agricultural markets in West Bengal, British development studies scholar Barbara Harris-White has documented in detail how trade in farm produce is controlled through a web of rural and semi-urban agro commercial enterprises. These enterprises — whom she broadly categorises as ‘rural commercial capital’...
More »Motive behind demonetisation is justifiable but there may be collateral damage
There are reports from all over the country that the recent decision by the government to demonetise currency notes of Rs. 500/- and Rs. 1000/- denomination has affected everyone. However the consequence of this financial measure is lopsided and it will be mainly borne by the farmers, informal sector workers, women and the financially excluded. Please check the links/ urls below this news alert to know everything about demonetisation. Till a few...
More »Issues and arguments: How a key Delhi-Noida bridge went toll-free -Aneesha Mathur
-The Indian Express The Allahabad High Court has scrapped the user fee on the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) Flyway, saying the concessionaire has already recovered its ‘reasonable’ dues. Allahabad High Court last week scrapped the toll levied on commuters using the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) Flyway, a major traffic artery connecting southeast Delhi with Noida across the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh. A subsequent bid by the Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd (NTBCL) — the...
More »Plucking the low-hanging fruit of agricultural subsidy reform -Pravesh Sharma
-The Indian Express The Centre is pushing and many states are implementing Direct Benefit Transfers – and encountering little political opposition The entire focus on ushering in a direct benefit transfer (DBT) regime for delivering subsidies to the targeted populations has so far centered around cooking gas, and to some extent, on isolated pilot experiments with food subsidy. Agriculture subsidies, especially on inputs other than fertilisers, have largely escaped attention in...
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