-The Hindu The Kerala model can be implemented across India with the same secular and gender-sensitive spirit Kumari died on September 1. She had contracted leptospirosis while doing relief work in Kerala after the floods, away from her own home which had not been affected. She was a health volunteer and prominent member of the Kudumbashree Mission in her panchayat in Ernakulum district. Kumari’s work and life symbolises the spirit of Kerala...

-The Hindu India’s GDP growth continues to be powered by consumption, not investments A question being raised about the GDP estimates for the first quarter of this year (April-June) is: How should 8.2% GDP growth be interpreted in, or reconciled with, the overall context of some of the pronounced trends in the economy? These include the depreciating rupee, rising bank bad loans, or non-performing assets (NPAs), a trade deficit that has shot...

-The Financial Express India’s rural wage growth has slumped from an average of 11% in the financial years 2013-15 to a mere 0.45% in the financial years 2016-18, due to the negative impact of demonetisation, a report said. An analysis of 25 different occupations in rural areas by India Ratings showed that rural wage growth slumped to decimal points from double-digit in last three years despite government support. India Ratings noted that...

-Livemint.com Rural development secretary Amarjeet Sinha on how MGNREGS has evolved since 2006 to result in income, acreage, water tables, productivity and fodder availability Agrarian distress and rural distress are terms used interchangeably, but the rural economy today is very different from what it was many years ago, given the diversification of rural incomes and hence incorrect to think one means the other, says Amarjeet Sinha, secretary, ministry of rural development. In...

-The Hindu Business Line Hyderabad: The Telangana government has released ?5,925 crore for the second phase of the Rythu Bandhu scheme for the rabi season. This is part of the ?11,925-crore allocated in the 2018-19 Budget for the scheme that seeks to provide financial assistance of ?4,000 each to farmers for every acre they own. The scheme is aimed at providing liquidity to farmers to take care of the purchase of inputs ahead...