-TheWire.in India is on its way to completing its demographic transition. It should stop fretting about the population problem. Instead, it needs to invest massively in education and health and provide stable, well-paying jobs. In recent weeks, the enormity of India’s “population problem” seems to have suddenly gripped the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership. Following the lead of Assam, the state of Uttar Pradesh has also started preparations for introducing a population control...

-The Hindu India needs a sharp revival of demand for which higher per capita incomes are necessary The provisional estimates of annual national income (2020-21), released on May 31 by the National Statistical Office, did not have any surprises, but for one, that is, there is nothing encouraging in the numbers. The agriculture sector continued its impressive growth performance, reiterating that it still remains as the vital sector of the economy, especially at...

-Down to Earth Pandemic-induced poverty and rise in food prices keep healthy diet out of reach of three billion people Good food or just food? “Our choice is always the latter. We need to survive.” Sukru Ojha, the 56-year-old resident of Koraput, Odisha told Down To Earth in April in reply to a query on whether the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic-induced income loss impacted his food intake. Koraput is one of...

-TheWire.in Cooperatives are useful for political parties in two ways – they are a font of funds as well as handy for dispensing patronage.  A day before the reshuffle, Narendra Modi’s National Democratic Alliance government created a new Ministry of Cooperation. It would provide, said its statement, a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in India. A day later, it announced Union home minister Amit Shah would also head...

-IndiaSpend.com A new study of the Rajasthan government's Bhamashah health insurance programme for poor households has found that just providing health insurance cover doesn't reduce gender inequality in access to even subsidised healthcare Jaipur: Women from poor households made about 235,000 fewer hospital visits compared to men for seven gender-neutral disease categories between January 2017 and October 2019, a new study analysing a Rajasthan state health insurance scheme has estimated. The Bhamashah...