-NDTV Profit New Delhi: The BJP-LED government has once again bumped up the allocation for the rural jobs guarantee scheme MGNREGA, once described by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "living proof of the Congress party's failure." In Budget 2016, the MGNREGA scheme or Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has been allocated Rs. 38, 500 crore ahead of important elections in five states this year. "If this is spent, it will be...

-Livemint.com Increased funding to go into irrigation schemes, crop insurance, national e-market for farm produce, pulse production and interest subsidy New Delhi: In a major push for agriculture in the Union budget, funding for the recently launched crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has been more than doubLED from Rs.2,589 crore in 2015-16 (budget estimate) to Rs.5,500 crore for 2016-17. The budget announced on Monday placed a renewed focus...

-The Hindu Medicines remain overpriced and unaffordable in India. In a country mired in poverty, medical debt remains the second biggest factor for keeping millions in poverty. The international pharmaceutical industry has found its cash cow in India’s beleaguered consumers. With a minimum wage of Rs.250/day for a government worker, a basic wage worker afflicted with a chronic disease like multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis faces penury. His treatment, with drug combinations, which works out...

-The Hindu The lack of any established principles or credible data prompts demands for reservation such as those of the Patels and Jats.The solution lies in shuffling reserved categories. It is only when Jats, Gujjars or Muslims demand reservation, and particularly when these demands become aggressive, that our political system suddenly wakes up and takes notice. However, this notice is simply confined to ascertaining whether the specific group demanding reservation is worthy...

-TheHansIndia.com Warangal: The Kazipet based Bala Vikasa Social Service Society has come up with a unique initiative calLED “Bala Vikasa Sujal ATW (Any Time Water)” offering one litre of purified chilLED water for just one rupee. The initiative was aimed to benefit the travellers, labourers and all the citizens in the tri-cities of Warangal-Hanamkonda-Kazipet, said the Bala Vikasa executive director S Shoury Reddy. Speaking to the media in the Kazipet town on...