-The Indian Express No announcements on recovering learning loss, support for children at risk of not returning to school. The government’s proposed spending on education next year has been cut by Rs 6,000 crore at a time when the Covid-19-induced disruption is expected to have exacerbated students’ learning loss and school dropout rates. The total education budget was slashed by 6 per cent from Rs 99,311 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 93,224 crore...

-The Hindu Farmer advocates not impressed by on-ground impact of budget announcements The Union Budget sent mixed signals to the tens of thousands of farmers who have been protesting on Delhi’s borders for the last two months, and the wider agricultural community. On the one hand, the Budget Allocation for the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare was slashed 8.5% in 2021-22. The flagship PM-KISAN scheme, meant to provide income support to...

-Down to Earth Increasing budgetary allocations towards Rural Employment Guarantee Act is non-negotiable   The agriculture sector has continued to serve as a lifeline at a time when the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has hurt every economic activity in an unprecedented manner. It has not only ensured food supply but also provided livelihoods to daily-wage workers during the lockdown, providing the last resort for those rendered homeless. The Union Budget 2021-2022 to...

-The Hindu The methodology behind the OECD’s numbers, that suggests negative support, has pitfalls and limitations The ongoing stalemate between the farmers protesting over the recently passed farm laws and the government has sparked an interesting debate regarding the level of agricultural support. Many media reports, based on data by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), have ostensibly stated that the support provided to Indian agriculture is extremely low or...

-The Indian Express Raising the diet of our people from subsistence level to higher levels of nourishment by overcoming the triple deficit is the only way to improve the nutritional indicators of our population — amongst children, adolescents and adults. It is nearly a month since the first phase of the NFHS-5 survey was published. While we await a response from the government or any policy-making authority, several articles by public health/policy...