-Hindustan Times The government Sarvodaya co-ed senior secondary school in Rohini Sector 21, which was opened on April 1, boasts of a swanky building with 69 rooms, including yoga room, music room, mathematics laboratory, and science laboratory. Dressed in a blue shirt, navy blue pants and a matching tie, Class 11 student Harsh Rawat feels no different studying at a government school than what he used to at a nearby private school...

-The Indian Express   Niti Aayog proposal for privatising public hospitals is ill-designed, driven by ideology more than welfare The corporate hospitals have been resting their gaze on public hospitals for long: Land, doctors and patients. Finally, in the Niti Aayog, they have found a sympathetic collaborator. As per media reports, the Aayog is all set to push states to privatise well functioning district hospitals in the Tier 2 and 3...

-The Indian Express The failure of populist rural credit schemes stems primarily from poor understanding of farm indebtedness in the first place. From the 1970s, a lot of private investment in tube-well irrigation, farm mechanisation and allied agricultural activities took place with bank credit support. After the establishment of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in 1982, institutional credit flows not only accelerated, but also exhibited diversification to fund livestock...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Several social sector schemes, such as MGNREGA, housing, irrigation, education and connectivity, are expected to see a significant increase over the next two financial years as the government ramps up spending in key areas ahead of the 2019 elections. According to the medium-term expenditure framework statement tabled in Parliament by finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday, the Centre's total spending is set to reach Rs 26...

-The Hindu Business Line Basmati, bovine exports have already plateaued New Delhi: With export earnings from basmati and bovine meat — the flagship agricultural and processed export sectors — hitting a plateau, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is exploring newer avenues, Chairman Devendra Kumar Singh said on Wednesday. According to data available with APEDA, export earnings from agricultural and processed food products have drastically dropped from $21.5 billion...