-The Hindu Crop insurance has always been a knotty issue with the two previous ones, National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NIAS) of 1999 and the Modified NAIS of 2010 failing to address the concerns. Hyderabad: Agriculture scientists, NGOs and farmer leaders have picked holes in the recently launched Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana (PMFBY) touted as the much-awaited ‘suraksha kavach’ (shield) and panacea for all crop insurance related ills. Crop insurance has always been...

-PTI GENEVA: India needs to increase women's participation in labour markets, build on its experience of its flagship employment scheme and provide social housing for the working poor to tackle unemployment, the ILO said today as it warned of a grim global unemployment situation. "Decreased labour force participation of women in India is a big problem. It is very important to promote their participation, their involvement in the Indian economy," the chief...

-Livemint.com The economist believes inequality in India is comparable with Brazil, South Africa but lack of transparency over direct tax statistics in India hinders his study here New Delhi: Economist Thomas Piketty believes inequality in India is comparable with that in Brazil and South Africa. Like the two other emerging economies, where the richest 10% of the population has a 60-65% share of total wealth, a similar scenario probably exists in...

-The Hindu Maternity entitlements are an important policy tool for encouraging better maternal health. This is why we need to do away with conditionality in cash transfer schemes Since the National Food Security Act (NFSA) was passed in 2013, policy circles have been buzzing with talk of reforms in the public distribution system (PDS). Less well appreciated is the NFSA’s potential to call attention to, and help address, poor maternal nutrition — an aspect...

-The Hindu As of 2005-06, India had 62 million stunted children, accounting for a third of the world’s burden of stunting. Indian states have seen some improvements in child nutrition over the last decade, the first official data in over a decade shows, but over one in three children is still stunted, and over one in five underweight. As of 2005-6, India had 62 million stunted children, accounting for a third of the...