Quite often it is argued by mainstream economists that a sizeable chunk of the Union Budget every year is wasted because the Government spends that on food and fertiliser subsidies. The burgeoning size of these two subsidies relative to the entire budget as well as the gross domestic product (GDP) is often used to build the argument that economic as well as environmental sustainability of the country is at stake...

-The Indian Express A Delhi government-commissioned employment survey has captured the severity of the job crisis plaguing the national capital. What is the highlight of the report? What does it say on female participation in the workforce? A Delhi government-commissioned employment survey, carried out between September-November 2020, has captured the severity of the job crisis plaguing the national capital, which continues to reel under the impact of the pandemic and the consequent...

-TheThirdPole.net Authorities in Himachal Pradesh want to legalise unauthorised buildings in highest quake-risk region After years of legal tug of war, the mountain state of Himachal Pradesh could see a new relaxation of its urban planning rules, despite repeated warnings about the dangers of unfettered development on its cities’ fragile terrains. According to a 2015 report on landslide vulnerability, most of the built-up areas in Himachal Pradesh, northern India, are in a high-risk...

When a massive sum of public money is spent on a programme like Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGA)--a demand-driven programme, there is likelihood of financial misappropriations and mismanagement. Thankfully there are checks and balances in the rural employment guarantee legislation to counter such malpractices. It is worth noting that the total allocation under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGA) for 2020-21 was Rs. 1,11,500.00 crore (R.E.), up...

-TwoCircles.net The research highlights how the educational marginalization of Muslims in India starts at an early age itself and reveals that growth in literacy rates among Muslims is much less than among SCs/STs. Muslim children face systematic exclusion at the pre-primary level at private schools in New Delhi, the national capital of India, a new research has pointed out. The research article titled “Early Educational Marginalization for Muslim Children in India: An Analysis...