-The Hindu Stimulus measure to link pay to consumer price index with annual revision. Staring at a slump in rural demand and a slowdown in the rural economy, the Centre plans to inject more money into the UPA’s flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme by linking wages under the Act to an updated inflation index, which will be revised annually. It hopes this will increase wages, thus increasing...

-PTI Economists at State Bank Research also warned that any attempt to trim government spending to maintain the fiscal numbers will be severely detrimental to growth. Lose-monetary policy alone cannot arrest the deepening slump, instead government must take demand-boosting measures, especially in rural areas, by frontloading expenditure primarily through the national rural employment scheme, says a report. Economists at State Bank Research Monday also warned that any attempt to trim government spending to...

-Newsclick.in Data confirms an acute demand crisis in rural India and beyond. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s latest statement on millennials contributing to the auto industry slowdown by shifting their preferences—choosing Ola or Uber ride-booking services instead of buying cars—is feeding many a meme on social media. Even before her statement, sections of industry and the banking sector had been pushing this argument. Not just private banking giants, such as Uday Kotak, but even...

-The Indian Express Government could give fertiliser subsidy directly to farmers and let them decide if they want to practise zero budget natural farming or use chemical-fertilisers. The Narendra Modi government completed 100 days of its second term (Modi 2.0) last week. On this occasion, most cabinet ministers spoke of the achievements of their ministries. The headlines in newspapers were, however, about the abrogation of Article 370, or the biggest slump...

-The Hindu The factories in Vetapalem are in an immediate need of mechanisation ONGOLE: The cashew industry, which has flourished for hundreds of years in Vetapalem village near Chirala town in Prakasam district, is beginning to show the first warning signs of a slump. Cashew units are reportedly struggling to sustain operations in the wake of a shortage of raw material and a skilled workforce, with fingers being pointed at the Mahatma Gandhi...