-The Financial Express The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) recently rolled out a massive solar-pump programme called the PM-KUSUM scheme. The scheme has a target to set up 25,750 megawatts (MW) solar capacity by 2022 to power irrigation pumps, with central financial support of Rs 34,422 crore. It includes installation of 1.75 million off-grid and 1 million on-grid solar pumps as well as 10,000 MW of solar capacity in rural...

-Livemint.com * In her new book, Puja Mehra analyses the political and economic policies of a decade that have brought India’s growth rate to its current crisis * She uses her insights as a trained economist as well as journalist to explain the workings of the governments in power In the last couple of years, India has been on a shaky growth path, regularly being called “the world’s fastest-growing economy" and losing grip...

-Business Standard Till the time you don’t give water to a farmer’s fields, you can’t save him from suicide. Intervening in a debate in the state Assembly on July 21, 2015, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra remarked that the state has 40 per cent of the country’s large dams, “but 82 per cent area of the state is rainfed. Till the time you don’t give water to a farmer’s fields, you can’t...

-The Hindu Only a fast-growing economy can generate surpluses needed to create jobs and sustain social safety nets Now that the general election is over, the time has come to pay serious attention to the economy. The national income numbers continue to be controversial. No serious policy decision can be taken with ambiguous numbers. Nevertheless, even with the new official numbers it is clear that growth is slowing down. As in the...

-Livemint.com * Voters posed trust in Modi’s leadership for his welfare schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana * The Modi govt took a few policy missteps but came back strongly with focus on social sector schemes Parkash, 30, a tractor driver from Banswara, one of the poorest regions of southern Rajasthan, is happy that his family has received cooking gas and electricity connections during the five-year tenure of the Narendra Modi government. “Our name is...