-Livemint.com Very low GDP Growth in the fourth quarter indicates that the slowdown is likely to persist in the current quarter as well Finally, the impact of demonetisation is visible in the gross domestic product (GDP) numbers. Gross value-added (GVA) Growth at constant prices fell to a mere 5.6% in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017 (FY17), clearly showing the scars of demonetisation on the economy. That’s not all. The headline Growth...

-Macroscan.org The advance GDP estimates for 2016-17, however calculated, show a grim picture of the economy. The real per capita income of the agriculture-dependent population, which constitutes half the country's populace, has remained stagnant or even marginally declined during the three years of the Modi government. While the pursuit of neoliberal policies can be held responsible for this, treating the aggregate Growth as a "great achievement" for political mileage is unwarranted. Please...

-The Hindu Millet traders plan to approach Finance Ministry for relief; tax rate will not only affect consumers, but also farmers Bengaluru (Karnataka): The 5% tax on hulled grain, under the Goods and Service Tax (GST) to be rolled out from July 1, is going to be a dampener for many. For the first time, millet rice is coming into the tax bracket, and this will make it dearer for consumers. Known for...

-The Hindu Greater data availability, especially on labour markets, needed to better gauge social impact of such policies The World Bank has said the social impact of demonetisation may have been greater as the informal economy was likely to have been hit especially hard. However, the Bank said the impact of demonetisation on the informal economy was difficult to measure and greater data availability, especially on labour markets, is needed to...

-Hindustan Times To begin with, it is imperative that the government and the ruling coalition acknowledge the challenge, and not be dismissive about it. Ambiguous expressions such as “promoting self-employment” do not help. It is difficult to disagree when BJP president Amit Shah says it’s impossible to provide jobs to everyone in a country of 1.25 billion people. It is also equally absurd to agree with him that reports of rising unemployment...