-Business Standard The efficacy of farm debt waivers is ambiguous, but it has proved to be a potent potent weapon in the run-up to elections With elections round the corner in agrarian states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, his party’s Punjab chief ministerial candidate Amarinder Singh and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal are trying to woo farmers of the two states with promises of farm...

-The Hindu The pursuit of full employment of labour cannot primarily rely on domestic private investment, much less FDI. Only public investment will steady us in the long run. We are increasingly told that the inflow of capital — particularly the foreign direct investment (FDI) variety — increases employment levels and contributes to economic growth. In a rare interview given to The Wall Street Journal in May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reinforced...

-Hindustan Times New Delhi: Government transport in Haryana, Karnataka and Telangana, industrial areas in the National Capital region, hotels in Himachal Pradesh and banks and insurance offices across India may not function on Friday as central trade unions will hit the streets for a general strike. Last year, the trade union’s strike saw an estimated 15 crore workers take the day off. “This year we expect the figures to be higher,” said...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The proposed surrogacy law that prevents women from renting out their wombs for financial gain will be a blow to infertile couples unable to find the service for free, sections of doctors in infertility treatment services said today. The specialists said a law that insists that a surrogate woman has to be a close relative of the infertile couple would be "impractical" and may also raise the risk...

-Hindustan Times New Delhi: Taking action against corrupt officials could soon get harder. A parliamentary panel has backed a move to bar anti-graft agencies from probing bribery allegations against public servants without the government’s approval. The government can take up to four months to decide if the police should register the bribery case, and there will be no penalty if it takes longer. However, its sanction would not be required if the official...