-The Hindu The government has declared an incentive package to encourage non-cash payments for fuel, new insurance policies from public sector firms, train tickets and highway toll, among other things. For credit and debit card transactions up to Rs.2,000, the Reserve Bank of India has relaxed its stringent two-factor authentication requirement, and service tax stands waived. Taken together, these moves to encourage cashless payments are significant not just because they can...

-Frontline.in Interview with Utsa Patnaik, professor emerita of economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University. By T.K. RAJALAKSHMI THE FALLOUT of the decision of the National Democratic Alliance government to demonetise currency of higher denominations has been felt across all sections of people. There are concerns that it will lead to an overall economic slowdown given the acute shortage of currency for industrial and agricultural operations. The impact on agriculture and those dependent on agriculture...

-The Indian Express As part of the first supplementary grant of demands, the ministry had released an additional Rs 5,000 crore — a third of the Rs 15,000 crore the MoRD had demanded to meet increased expenditure in drought-affected states. The Ministry of Rural Development has sought Rs 10,000 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) as part of the second batch of supplementary demand of grants, set...

-Livemint.com Middle India is largely rural and uneducated, shows the ‘Household Survey on India’s Citizen Environment & Consumer Economy’ New Delhi: India’s richest quintile accounts for 45% of aggregate household disposable income while the poorest quintile earns barely 7% of the aggregate income pie, according to the latest data from a nationally representative survey conducted this year. The Household Survey on India’s Citizen Environment & Consumer Economy (ICE 360° survey), covering 61,000 households,...

-DNA The Dalits of Bundelkhand, its most oppressed section of society are leaving the region in droves due to a lack of employment opportunities. Meanwhile, their children are being deprived of education, too, either because of a loss of regular income or because of caste discrimination On October 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a Parivartan rally in Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh where he highlighted the presence of large numbers of...