-The Indian Express Indian statistical system can withstand political pressures. Legislation and public scrutiny can strengthen it further. One unfortunate fallout of the recent controversy regarding the non-publication of the labour force survey report by the National SAMple Survey Organisation has been the questions raised on the autonomy and independence of the Indian official statistical system. As reported in this newspaper, the possibility of junking the survey report in favour of...

-The Hindu Business Line Pune: Noticing that some banks had diverted the first instalment of Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme to farmers’ loan accounts, the Maharashtra government has instructed banks to return the money to farmers. Speaking to BusinessLine, Maharashtra’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Suhas Diwase, said that banks that had diverted the PM-Kisan instalment to farmers’ loan accounts have reversed the transactions after the government’s instructions: “There are strict instructions...

-The Hindu Business Line Implementation issues in Fasal Bima Yojana need to be addressed A BusinessLine series from perennially drought-prone Jalna and Parbhani districts in Maharashtra has brought to the fore implementation lapses in the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). Farmers have not been compensated for crop damage, owing to multiple factors. Chief among these is irregularities in crop cutting experiments. The CCEs are meant to be carried in the presence...

-The Hindu A basic income scheme will deliver benefits to the poor only if it comes on top of public services The idea of a universal basic income (UBI) is gaining ground globally. It has supporters among the political left and right, and among proponents as well as opponents of the free-market economy. A UBI requires the government to pay every citizen a fixed amount of money on a regular basis and...

-The Hindu The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday approved the promulgation of an Ordinance to allow voluntary submission of Aadhaar as identity proof for use by private entities such as banks, telcos and fintech firms. The Ordinance also gives a child an option to exit from the Aadhaar on attaining 18 years of age. “The amendments proposed are the SAMe as those contained in the Bill passed by...