-Scroll.in The debate over the proposal has turned into a political slugfest. Crucial questions remain unaddressed. In 2016, the Delhi government ran a pilot in 42 out of its roughly 2,500 Public Distribution System outlets. At these outlets, Aadhaar-based biometric authentication was introduced at the time of sale of grain to ration card holders. A survey was done by students of Lady Shri Ram College at one of the pilot PDS outlets, incidentally...
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Counting the dead: On measuring excess deaths
-The Hindu Measuring excess deaths is the best possible way to estimate the count of COVID-19 deaths The real time mortality impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is an important statistical measure to guide policy responses. But measuring the actual count is not an easy task. WHO, in January 2021, had estimated, based on excess deaths data in Europe and the American continents, that actual deaths were at least 1.6 times over the...
More »GST brought down on 14 COVID relief goods -Vikas Dhoot
-The Hindu Council leaves the 5% tax levied on vaccines unchanged. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Saturday decided to waive the tax levied on two critical drugs against COVID-19 and mucormycosis — tocilizumab and amphotericin B — and reset the tax rate to 5% for 14 major pandemic relief items, till September 30. Non-BJP-ruled States registered a strong dissent, terming the continued imposition of GST on critical COVID supplies and...
More »It’s time to protect the poor and the migrants from rising edible oil prices
In his Mann ki Baat address to the nation on 30th May, 2021, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi appreciated the fact that the farmers received "more than the minimum support price (MSP) for mustard" pertaining to the rabi production. One can easily guess from this statement of the PM that the mustard growers in Haryana (and elsewhere) preferred to sell their produce to private traders in the open market instead...
More »Rote Learning and the Destruction of Creativity -Anurag Mehra
-TheIndiaForum.in Anurag Mehra teaches engineering and policy at IIT Bombay. His policy focus is the interface between technology, culture, and politics. The shallow form of schooling with its emphasis on information kills rather than develops curiosity and creativity, all made worse by the importance given to 'marks' recorded in exams. An overhaul is needed but not one driven by digital delusions. Policymakers seem to have a deep love for the word 'innovation'. The...
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