-TheWire.in The new vision wants youth to figure out education and skills on their own but still expects them to be the drivers of economic progress. Piyush Goyal, presenting the interim budget, called it a road map for peoples’ development – a fitting description for an election year budget. Accordingly, it contained the expected sops to farmers (income support), to the middle class and home owners (increase in income tax and rental...

-The Hindu Business Line Farmers are wrongly blamed for high power consumption. They need incentives for growing appropriate crops Agitations and loan waivers have brought the economics of agriculture in focus. Much of the discussion is about minimum support price, farmers’ net incomes and debt repayment capacities. However, the inputs side of the issue, especially the role and sustainability of subsidised inputs, also need equal attention if agriculture distress is to be...

-Down to Earth Sunita Narain on cow-vigilantism, cattle trade and the collapse of the livestock economy of India I would not advocate vegetarianism. When I reasoned this out in this column a few years ago, I received the usual insults. Environmentalists are expected to be vegetarian, or better vegan! But what many didn’t register was my emphasis: “I am saying this as an Indian environmentalist; not global or western environmentalist.” My argument has...

-The Hindu Business Line The new series data cannot really be faulted. But it is important not to repeat the policy mistakes that hit industrial growth The 2011-12 base backdated GDP series led to much discussion. The reduction in past growth rates gave them a political colour. It is unfortunate if the independence of the CSO and associated experts is questioned just because of this coincidence. A rebasing that uses much richer...

-The Indian Express Will the kisan take care of interests of landless peasants as well? In the aftermath of the demonstrations by farmers in the name of agricultural prices and loan waiving, it is important to remember that village India also comprises of landless peasants who have nothing to sell on the market and have never gone to a bank. Their condition has deteriorated, too, as a result not only of the...