-TheWire.in The manifestoes of major political parties in the fray in all five states promise both great infrastructure development and greater environmental safeguards. Kochi: In February and March, people in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur will vote to elect their next chief ministers and ruling parties. If not at any other time of the year, the public consciousness of environmental issues is heightened in these states today, as both the...

-The Telegraph The Congress national general secretary spoke on women’s empowerment in the state where seven-phase elections are being held Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said distributing doles does not empower the poor, accusing some political parties of deliberately weakening the masses to ensure they are not in a position to question governments. Addressing a virtual rally meant for Uttar Pradesh, the Congress leader said: “A (cooking gas) cylinder doesn’t empower women. A...

-The Hindu The Haryana High Court order had stayed a controversial State law which provides 75% reservation for local youths in private sector jobs earning less than Rs.30,000 a month. The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside a Punjab and Haryana High Court order staying a controversial State law which provides 75% reservation for local youths in private sector jobs earning less than ₹30,000 a month. Industry associations have said the law “affects...

-The Telegraph The RBI’s inflation analysis goes against the grain The budget for 2022-23 was saluted for its growth push despite the record gap in revenues and expenditures: Rs 15 trillion would be borrowed to fill these. This, however, did not hold back the stock market from touching the sky, nor commentary greeting the raised capex to draw in private investments, create jobs, and support demand. Days later, the euphoria subsided as...

-FinancialExpress.com Recent registrations cited as proof of job creation were mostly formalisation of existing jobs Defending the Centre’s record on employment, prime minister Narendra Modi, in a speech in Rajya Sabha, talked about the impressive net enrolment to Employment Provident Fund Organization (EPFO): during 2021, 1.20 crore beneficiaries were enrolled under EPF—about 65 lakh beneficiaries in the 18-25 age bracket, implying they are first-time entrants to the labour market. He connected the...