-Livemint.com In the last decade, the rural constituent has emerged an important factor for overall private final consumption, which forms more than half (55-60% range) of India’s demand side GDP An above-average monsoon is commonly expected to be a key demand driver in 2016-17. Gross domestic product (GDP) forecasts for the year incorporate a revival in rural consumption—a segment that suffered severe setback from two successive years of adverse rainfall. In...

-The Indian Express Swiss voted against the idea of a Universal Basic Income. But the debate continues We in India tend to associate Switzerland with fresh-faced girls in dirndls on a beautiful hillside, or with a cabal of silent bankers, but it is in fact a much more interesting country than those clichés might imply. For one, they decide on policy by referendums — if a hundred thousand Swiss sign up to...

-The Hindu A better approach to man-wildlife conflict management requires an integration of scientific evidence, animal behaviour, and landscape and socio-economic context The difference of views on the killing of wild animals between a former and a sitting Environment Minister of the ruling party — one in favour, the other against — has hit the front pages. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change recently permitted three States, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and...

Although public goods are meant for everyone to enable living life with human dignity, certain groups are systematically deprived to access them, says a new report from the Centre for Equity Studies -- a NGO based in Delhi. Put differently, not all sections of the society are able to access or enjoy public goods and services on an equal footing, despite social justice being one of the key provisions of...

-The Indian Express The anti-discrimination clause will provide recourse to buyers who are denied a house by builders owing to their caste, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, dietary choices or any such factors. The Centre is set to introduce an anti-discriminatory clause in rules under the real estate Act to curb the practice of builders refusing to sell their apartments based on a buyer’s religion, marital status or dietary preferences. The Real Estate...