-The Hindu Business Line Fails to ease distress caused by demonetisation’ New Delhi: Terming the Union Budget 2017-18, presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, as detrimental to the realisation of the welfare State, as enshrined in the Constitution, civil rights organisations said it “fails to respond to the present situation of distress and unemployment especially aggravated by demonetisation.” “The Budget seems to be perpetuating unemployment, hunger and malnutrition,” said a release by the...

-The Indian Express They are the largest constituency in UP. Yet, all parties have overlooked their issues Next month, Uttar Pradesh (UP) will have a new popular government, hopefully with a clear mandate. If UP was a country, with a population reportedly of more than 214 million in 2015 (as per UN population projections), it would have been the fifth most populous country in the world after China, India, US and Indonesia....

-The Hindu Most of the earnings of the average farm household were spent in meeting consumption expenditures. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a slew of measures in the Union Budget 2017 to boost the agriculture sector. Higher agricultural credit, higher allocation for irrigation projects, a crop insurance scheme and increased allocations for MGNREGA to dig farm ponds were among the measures announced on February 1. But will these help attain the goal...

-The Hindu FM allocates Rs.48,000 crore for MGNREGA; says it will be brought under digital scrutiny The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), once described by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “living monument of the UPA’s failure,” got its highest ever allocation — Rs.48,000 crore — since its inception over a decade ago.   Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, however, indicated that the funds dispensed would come under increased digital scrutiny. “The...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre today proposed its highest ever budget allocation for the rural job guarantee scheme but critics rued that the increase was just Rs 500 crore over the revised allocation last year. Finance minister Arun Jaitley announced Rs 48,000 crore for projects and payment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, flagging the hike from the Rs 38,500 crore allocated last year (See chart). Social activists, however,...