-Business Standard Plans to enhance buffer stock to 500,000 tonnes; Gujarat exempts importers from stock limit Even as retail prices of pulses continued to exceed Rs 200 a kg in some cities, the Centre stepped up its countrywide crackdown on hoarders and black marketers. The central government claims to have seized around 50,000 tonnes of pulses so far from 10 states, about 15,000 tonnes in the last few days alone. Officials say the...

-The Hindu Business Line Will help policymakers, analysts calculate impact of decisions on real-time job market The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation is set to launch quarterly and annual surveys on employment. “We are in the process of getting administrative clearances. The methodology has already been finalised and the surveys should be launched soon,” said TCA Anant, the country’s Chief Statistician. Once this is done, it is expected to bridge a major deficit...

-Business Standard Says the actual poverty is much higher than suggested by the multilateral lender, adding there is lack of scientific basis in computing the poverty line The government has contested the World Bank's recently released data that showed only 12.4 per cent of India's population was poor in 2011-12, considering an expenditure cut-off of $1.9 a person a day on purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. It said the actual poverty was...

-The Times of India VIJAYAWADA: Gradual decline in the overall cropped area casts a shadow over the state government's ambitious target of achieving double digit growth. Although Andhra Pradesh registered 12.52 per cent in the first quarter of 2015-16, it is quite unlikely that the target will become a reality in the long run, say experts and peasant leaders. Lending credence to such worries, agriculture and allied sectors (Rs 9,854 crore)...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government is planning an innovative strategy to use the approximately 4.5 lakh engineering and polytechnic seats that stay vacant every year to teach skill training courses. The plan, which is at a preliminary stage with approvals needed to make it actionable, aims to plug the skills gap, provide options for youth who might be falling out of any kind of professional or academic training, and...