-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...

-Scroll.in At a time when upper classes continue to thrive on waves of profit maximisation, the social and economic safety net of the poor has been gradually eroding. Amidst all the talk on two Bharats, are we seeing a time horizon where India’s elite may abandon the country’s poor and vulnerable? This is a question I have been contemplating about for a few months now. My curiosity peaked days after the recent Union...

-Newsclick.in Major budgetary allocation cuts in crucial schemes for women, children and vulnerable sections are indicative of the government’s lopsided priorities. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget has helped reinforce one home truth -- that India is divided into the salaried section and a vast underbelly, including the middle class who have been edged into poverty due to job losses suffered during the COVID pandemic. Coming out of the pandemic’s ‘third wave’, issues of...

-Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA), February 4, 2022 Since 2006, Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) has been bringing out an analysis of the Union Budget every year soon after its presentation in Parliament. This publication aims to facilitate an informed discussion on the Budget focusing both on revenue and expenditure aspects, particularly around the social sectors, agriculture, rural economy, climate actions and provisioning of budgetary support for...

-The Hindu The government seems to have prioritised meeting its fiscal deficit targets rather than using this opportunity to signal a path of employment-centred and inclusive growth India continues to rank poorly in various global indices that reflect the quality of life, human capital or human development in the country, such as the Human Development Index (rank 131 out of 189 countries) and the Global Hunger Index (rank 101 out of 116...