-TheWire.in Despite government press releases, as of August 2017, there doesn’t appear to have been a substantial increase in the number of new tax payers or direct tax collection as a result of demonetisation. On the morning of August 8, most of our newspapers – both national as well as regional ones – ran headlines about the giant leap in the income tax returns received as well as the increase in advance...

-The Indian Express The failure of populist rural credit schemes stems primarily from poor understanding of farm indebtedness in the first place. From the 1970s, a lot of private investment in tube-well irrigation, farm mechanisation and allied agricultural activities took place with bank credit support. After the establishment of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in 1982, institutional credit flows not only accelerated, but also exhibited diversification to fund livestock...

-Scroll.in The ministry says it will respond to a draft model contract that has been sent to states for comments. The Ministry for Health and Family Welfare has said that it will respond to the Niti Aayog’s draft agreement proposing the terms for privatising district hospitals across the country. As Scroll.in reported, the government policy think tank sent a letter to states in June proposing a model by which private companies...

-Livemint.com The draft National Policy for Women, 2017 approved by the group of ministers would ensure food, shelter, health and free education for women and children of poor families New Delhi: The draft National Policy for Women, 2017 approved by the group of ministers on Tuesday would ensure food, shelter, health and free education for women and children of poor families. “The nutritious and safe food through public distribution system (PDS) for households...

-Hindustan Times It’s a paradoxical fact. Families become smaller as better nutrition, vaccination and healthcare ensure couples lose fewer children to malnutrition and infections, such as diarrhoea, pneumonia, sepsis and tuberculosis India’s most comprehensive report card on health released earlier this year shows India’s total fertility rate (TFR) has dropped from an average of 2.7 children per women in 2006 to 2.2 a decade later. Around two in three states that are...