-PTI Washington: Six out of ten men in India have acted violently against their wives or partners at some point of time, with those facing economic distress more likely to perpetrate violence, says a new study highlighting prevalence of intimate partner abuse released on Monday. The study titled Masculinity, Intimate Partner Violence and Son Preference in India by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Washington-based International Centre for Research on Women...

-The Times of India Jagdish Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya, hereafter BP, have argued for phasing out the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in favour of cash transfers ("Rural Inefficiency Act", ToI, 23 October). It's surprising-and amusing-that two eminent economists have chosen to make a case based on prior beliefs and some sophomoric wordplay ('mis'leading economists), rather than on the available evidence. A survey by one of us of the empirical literature...

-The Hindu Reports that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government intends to radically restructure the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) have re-ignited public discussion on the scheme. Since its launch, debate on MGNREGA has been synonymous with ideological contestations on the role of the state and its welfare functions. Inevitably, the contours of the debate have been shrill, leaving little space for an evidence-based discussion on the...

-Outlook Karnataka government plans to procure cloth from powerlooms for school uniforms, thus impacting the livelihood of handloom weavers in the state. The Vidya Vikas scheme of the government of Karnataka through which free handloom cloth for a pair of uniforms is provided to students of government schools is under a serious threat. Launched about 25 years ago, this unique scheme was designed to serve a dual purpose. The handloom cloth...

-The Hindustan Times Nalgonda/Warangal: Dasari Ramulu, 45, and Polaboyina Pochaiah, 35, are two of the 348 Telangana farmers, who committed suicide since June 2 when Telangana became a state. The reasons behind their decision are not unique - crop failures due to poor rains and a nonexistent irrigation system and debt burdens. The debt-to-death arithmetic is simple: Each attempt to get water through bore wells costs Rs. 1 lakh and cotton seeds...