One is almost certain to hear this from an economist that if something is available at free of cost or at a subsidised rate thanks to government intervention, then people tend to overuse or overconsume such goods/ commodities. So, the best solution is to create a market for such 'almost freely available' or 'highly subsidised' goods or commodities. Once people start paying to use or consume such goods/ commodities, they...
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No money left in MGNREGA coffers; 21 States in the red -Priscilla Jebaraj
-The Hindu States creating artificial demand, says official; workers pushed into ‘forced labour’ by delayed payments, say activists The Centre’s flagship rural employment scheme has run out of funds halfway through the financial year, and supplementary budgetary allocations will not come to the rescue for at least another month when the next Parliamentary session begins. According to its own financial statement, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme shows...
More »How Indian states fare in ensuring access to socio-economic security, basic amenities and justice -Deepanshu Mohan, Richa Sekhani, Latika Sharma, Vanshika Mittal & Advaita Singh
-Scroll.in With the aim of understanding inequality from the lens of opportunities, a new index measures the disproportionality of access across the country. The concept of equality of opportunity is rooted in the Rawlsian philosophical tradition, whereby people are expected to construct a society in a way that they would be happy for their position in society to be determined by a random draw. He argued that social positions should be formally...
More »How Suburban, Rural Youth are Being Sucked Into Instant Loan Apps ‘Trap’ -Sashwata Saha
-Newsclick.in Harassment by loan recovery agents hired by these apps has led to at least 21 suicides across India between 2020 and 2021. Meghna Patel took her first loan early in 2020 from an app called FlyCash, whose ads she had been seeing on Facebook. It was a small amount. Just Rs 500. She had to repay Rs 550, two weeks later. The app even had a borrowing limit of Rs 1,000. Recently,...
More »‘Unscientific’ or ‘Indifference’: A Look at 'Access Inequality' Data as Govt Slams Hunger Index -Deepanshu Mohan and Richa Sekhani
-TheWire.in If the Union government thinks that the Global Hunger Index’s methodology is ‘unscientific’, here is another Index that shows a troubling picture for the state of ‘Access Inequality in Basic Amenities’ across India. In the Global Hunger Index (GHI) released last week, India’s ranking slipped seven places to a rank of 101 from 94, in over just a year. The index gives a score on a 100 point scale, where zero...
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