-The Telegraph MGNREGA funds run thin, government sits on demand Millions of rural job scheme workers may have their wages delayed in the new year with the programme coffers depleting and the finance ministry sitting on the demand for additional funds. According to data on the scheme website, the funds available as of December 30, 2019, were Rs 2,766 crore, which social activists working on the scheme’s implementation said would be exhausted in...

-Livemint.com Using India’s Public Distribution System (PDS) as a case study, new research shows social transfers may reduce labour supply, but increase wages A common belief about social transfers is that they make their recipients lazy, decrease labour supply and do not reduce poverty. According to research that examines India’s largest social transfer programme, the public distribution system (PDS), social transfers indeed reduce labour supply but this increases wages and alleviates poverty. In...

-The Telegraph Bengalis living in Assam would lose all rights and privileges if Clause 6 of the Accord was implemented Hailakandi: The central committee of Barak Upatyaka Banga Sahitya O Sanskriti Sammelan on Thursday expressed concern over implementation of Assam Accord. The committee said Bengalis living in the state would lose all rights and privileges if Clause 6 of the Accord was implemented. Clause 6 says, “Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may...

-PTI The December 18 report also said that for the first time in independent India’s history, a religious criterion has been added to the country’s naturalization process Washington: The amended Citizenship law along with a National Register of Citizens (NRC) being planned by the Narendra Modi government “may affect the status” of Muslim minority in India, a report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) has said. The December 18 report also said that...

-The Indian Express What economists do not like to dwell on and what Karl Polanyi had noted a long time ago is that the economy is ultimately embedded in society, institutions and politics. When these are damaged, the economy begins to stall. With India’s deep political troubles, and protest marches breaking out all over the country, it may seem odd to be writing on economics. Yet, it would also be wrong not...