-The Hindu Business Line A new approach to financial inclusion using post offices The Government is making intensive efforts to extend access to financial resources such as savings accounts, credit and insurance services to unbanked sections of our society, and the knowledge and freedom to leverage them to one's benefit. The Budget has already mentioned that the Government considers financial inclusion as an important thrust area and the Prime Minister is expected...

-The Business Standard Independent evaluation of government schemes is essential In the final year of its term, the previous government decided to effect a significant restructuring in one channel of Transferring funds to states. Centrally sponsored schemes - 146 in number - were first consolidated into 83, both through mergers and termination. Then, it was decided that instead of the funds for these being allocated to the relevant ministry at the Centre,...

-Economic and Political Weekly   The emphasis on use of digital technologies to bridge the "rural-urban gap" in the union budget is limited to high talk and minimal allocations. The need for a more comprehensive and peoples' participation-oriented rural action plan should have been the focus while setting sectoral allocations, but that is not to be in this mid-year budget. Vipul Mudgal (vipulmudgal@gmail.com) heads the Inclusive Media for Change project at the Centre...

-The Indian Express A headlong rush into PPPs will only leave a trail of disputes, renegotiations, corruption. The conventional wisdom in India on public-private partnerships (PPPs) is that they help governments raise capital to meet large infrastructure investment targets. But this rationale for promoting PPPs does not stand on strong foundations. There are three potential reasons for supporting PPPs. First, they enable governments to access more capital without visibly breaching fiscal targets. In...

-Reuters NEW DELHI: With grain silos spilling over, exports on the rise and an avowed market champion for prime minister, India's threat to trash a global trade deal in the name of food security appears puzzling. But government officials say Prime Minister Narendra Modi is prepared to brazen out global outrage to seize a historic chance to build a rural power base with his defence of farm subsidies and to banish memories...