-The Telegraph The BJP government must realize that it cannot and should not be done by income transfers alone A new scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, was announced in the interim Union budget presented earlier this year. It was stated that under this scheme farmers holding up to two hectares of land would be entitled to Rs 6,000 every year, to be paid from the budget in three equal instalments....

-Livemint.com * GDP estimates are based on accepted methodologies, says government * Subramanian made the claims in his latest working paper published on the Harvard University website New Delhi: India’s statistics ministry likely underestimated the impact of demonetization and the rollout of the goods and services tax (GST) on economic activity, leading to an overestimation of gross domestic product (GDP) figures, the finance ministry’s former chief economic adviser, Arvind Subramanian, has said. On 31...

-The Times of India India's gross domestic product growth rate has been overstated by about 2.5 percentage points per year post 2011, former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian has said in a research paper, prompting economists to doubt the size of the claimed overestimation, and the government to defend the data . Subramanian also called for revisiting the entire methodology and implementation for GDP estimation by an independent task force, comprising national...

-Down to Earth/ India Science Wire Preferences change depending on factors including level of education, size of family, status as main earner A major challenge faced by the Indian health system is to keep its Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) motivated and retain them in service. A new study has found that ASHA workers get motivated most by prospects of promotions than other factors. Researchers from The George Institute for Global Health and...

-The Indian Express The BJP, now in the opposition, has accused the Congress of “milking” the Mandsaur case for political gains. Bhopal: Two years after the death of five protesters in two incidents of police firing near Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, family members of the victims have said they are still waiting for justice. The death toll would later rise to six after one protester succumbed to injuries allegedly suffered in police custody. The...