-The Hindu Business Line In view of the distortions arising out of excessive price support, direct income transfers to farmers is a better option The domestic debate has tended to conclude that the rise in MSP announced in the Budget is an essential part of achieving the government’s objective of doubling farm incomes. But MSP stands for minimum support prices and is an instrument designed for reducing income volatility, not for raising...

-Economic and Political Weekly Naresh Chandra Saxena (naresh.saxena@gmail.com) was posted at the IAS academy for eight years and trained several batches of the IAS. He retired as secretary, Planning Commission in 2002. The decision to recruit experts from the open market in certain departments at the level of joint secretaries is not enough to radically professionalise the civil service. Internal specialisation must be promoted by insisting on stable tenure in the states...

-The Hindu The judiciary doesn’t seem to fully appreciate the economic consequences of its judgments The number of legal disputes involving property, contract, labour, tax and corporate laws is bound to increase with an expanding economy. How they are adjudicated by courts not only has direct consequences for the disputants, but also shapes the behaviour of individuals and entities involved in production, commerce and banking. Judicial findings also influence decision-making of government...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Some major private hospitals like Fortis, Apollo, Medanta and Narayana Health have expressed concern over the government’s ambitious ‘Ayushman Bharat’ fixing prices of some critical procedures, saying the rates are not viable for them. Senior executives from some private hospitals met officials of Niti Aayog and health ministry on Friday over this issue following representations by various industry forums, sources said. “It appears that, overall, no...

-The Hindu The 15th Finance Commission has to take a call on the degree of equalisation that’s feasible In the context of the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 15th Finance Commission (FFC), certain key aspects relate to (a) the mandate for using the 2011 population; (b) ‘whether revenue deficit grants’ be given at all; (c) the impact of the goods and services tax (GST) on the finances of the Centre and...