-Hindustan Times Revolution imminent… genetically modified seeds produced by MNCs cause farmer suicides. Incendiary, out-of-context sound-bites juxtaposed between heartrending visuals distort rural poverty from a complex issue that each Indian must help resolve to a simplistic, accusatory Peepli Live feature. Instead of quixotic and strident anti-growth agendas offered as panacea, a coordinated and consistent approach to poverty reduction is needed. Poverty reduction needs development. The linkage between economic growth and poverty reduction is...

-Economic and Political Weekly The platform known as the JAM Trinity (an acronym for Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and mobile numbers) may enable a shift from the current Public Distribution System, based on price subsidies, to the direct transfer of benefits. However, it is incorrect to argue that JAM technologies will necessarily lead to the demise of the PDS. State-level experiences of computerisation, recounted here, reveal that the same technologies can...

-The Indian Express Over-dependence on fossil fuels will hurt sustainable development in India For decades, mature economies have seen their jobs being off-shored to newly industrialising countries. To stop the bleeding, they are working hard to unleash the digital and renewable energy revolutions. The aggressive push to regain competitiveness by digital automation has been widely noted. What is less understood is the logic behind the energy transformation. In manufacturing economies, the cost...

-The Hindu The idea of attacking poverty by increasing mobile connectivity in a country that ranks 55 in the Global Hunger Index is just fantasy Interviewer: What would you regard as the most outstanding and significant event of the last decade? Siddhartha: The… war in Vietnam, sir. Interviewer: More significant than landing on the moon? Siddhartha: I think so, sir. — “Pratidwandi” (The Adversary), 1970 The most fundamental debate for our youth is the choice between Android,...

-Livemint.com MGNREGS work days increased to 150 from 100; Rs.5,142 cr rurban project to create 300 smart village clusters New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on Wednesday unveiled a package of measures to combat rural distress in the backdrop of a below-average monsoon rainfall. The Union cabinet decided to increase the number of days of employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) from the existing 100...