-The Indian Express Cash in the hands of the poor can transform their lives. With bank accounts and an Aadhaar card for all becoming a reality, it is possible to transfer money directly to the poor and check middlemen who siphon away funds. Cash transfers (CTs) come in many forms. They may be conditional or unconditional, selective or non-selective, targeted or universal. Some types of CT are as susceptible to misuse as...

-The Hindu Are differences within the middle class, in income, education, and cultural and social capital, so wide as to render moot any ideological or behavioural coherence to this group? The rapid growth of the Indian economy over the past three decades has led to a substantial expansion of India's "middle class". This has triggered a robust debate over who in India actually belongs to the "middle class," its size, composition, and...

-The Hindu It is not the responsibility of the government alone to act in order to curb corruption; corporate firms need to be proactive as well in checking fraudulent financial practices The winter session of Parliament witnessed a noisy debate on the black money controversy. Governments of all hues have disappointed the Indian janata on the issue of black money and the failure is often associated with a perceived nexus between politicians...

-The Hindu Targeting households rather than districts may be more effective, says NCAER official Would confining India's flagship rural jobs scheme to the 200 poorest districts direct the benefits to those who need it most? New data indicates that this is unlikely to be the case - little separates India's poorest districts from others, and both sets rely on the scheme. In early October, reports surfaced that the Union government was considering restricting...

-The Indian Express How many jobs must be created to realise our demographic dividend (or avoid a nightmare)? Half of India's population is below 25. The worst-case scenario is that enough jobs are not created for the millions entering the labour force each year, and that this semi-educated mass becomes a force driving social conflict. The reason that East Asian countries (especially China) rode the wave of the demographic dividend and dramatically...