-Newsclick.in In an open letter addressed to Nirmala Sitharaman, 51 eminent economists have flagged less contribution to NOAPS and the lack of action on ensuring maternity benefits. Several prominent economists have proposed to the Union finance ministry to increase social security pensions and make adequate provisions for maternity benefits in the 2023-24 Union Budget. In an open letter addressed to Union finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman, 51 eminent economists—including Abhijeet Singh (Stockholm School...

-ThePrint.in Wage ceiling, mobility of lower-end workers, smaller establishments willfully avoiding registrations among factors that make EPF data flawed indicator, they assert New Delhi: While the government often cites monthly data from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) — the latest edition of which was released on Friday —  to show that formal sector employment is growing in India, economists say that the data is flawed, prone to inflation and captures only...

-Hindustan Times The World Bank should ensure “greater transparency and accountability” while factoring in subjective opinion-based indices as inputs for its World Governance Indicators (WGI) that has significant weightage in sovereign ratings, the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) said in a series of tweets citing an internal working paper, and called for independent Indian think tanks to bring out similar perception-based indices for the world in order to...

-TheWeek.in Greater damage to planet is unsustainable consumption and inequalities, he says We are now 8 billion strong, just 11 years after the world’s population touched 7 billion. The United Nations designated November 15 as the official day to mark the 8 billion milestone, although it’s hard to identify precisely when we reached it.  What exactly does it mean to be a world of 8 billion for humanity? Experts have varying opinions. Many...

-PTI/ Business Standard On November 22, Sitharaman would meet agriculture and agro processing industry, representatives from financial sector and capital markets Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will kick-start the customary pre-budget meetings beginning Monday with a special focus on issues concerning climate change and infrastructure. The minister would hold virtual meetings on November 21 in three groups with industry chambers, infrastructure sector and environment experts seeking suggestions for the 2023-24 Budget making from stakeholders. On...