-The Indian Express Instead of embarking on a massive administrative exercise with uncertain benefits, it is possible to think of another combination of public interventions that would actually ensure minimum income to a much larger proportion of the population. The Congress party’s recent declaration that, if voted to power, it will seek to ensure a minimum income to 20 per cent of the poorest households in the country, is laudable in...
More »SEARCH RESULT
A bridge to nowhere -Sakina Dhorajiwala & Jean Dreze
-The Hindu Poor people are running from pillar to post as the Aadhaar payment bridge routinely obstructs their welfare benefits Perhaps you will remember “l’affaire Airtel” — the mass diversion of LPG subsidies to Airtel wallets that came to light in 2017. Many of the wallets were unwanted, or even unknown to the recipients. Those affected, fortunately, included millions of middle-class Airtel customers who protested when the goof-up emerged. The subsidy money...
More »ECI stalls Karnataka farm loan waiver scheme till the end of election process -Sharath S Srivatsa
-The Hindu Decision to stop the scheme for now was based on opinion that unlike other schemes announced in the budget, this scheme entails cash transfer to beneficiaries, “which could sway them weeks before polling.” Bengaluru: The farm loan waiver scheme of the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government has been stalled temporarily by the Election Commission of India after the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha election came into force. The...
More »Fielding the right incentives -Ashok Gulati and Ritika Juneja
-The Indian Express Income support under PM-Kisan is only one small step. It must be complemented by large-scale reforms in agri-marketing and trade policies. Just ahead of the announcement of the 2019 general election dates, the prime minister launched the centrally sponsored ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi’ (PM-Kisan) scheme of Rs 75,000 crore for small and marginal farm families. On February 24, from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, he transferred the first...
More »PM Kisan is fine, but raise investment to make farming sustainable -Ashok Gulati & Ritika Juneja
-Financial Express Just ahead of the 2019 general elections dates announcement, the prime minister launched the centrally sponsored ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi’ (PM-Kisan) scheme of Rs 75,000 crore for small and marginal farm families. On February 24, 2019, from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, he transferred the first installment of Rs 2,000 each (out of `6,000 per annum) into the Bank Accounts of 1.01 crore farm families, amounting to `2,021 crore....
More »