-NetworkIdeas.org The very day, December 11, when the Indian finance ministry spuriously claimed a robust recovery in the post-pandemic Indian economy, newspapers carried news of an acceleration in the US inflation rate. The inflation rate in November 2021 over November of the preceding year had been 6.8 per cent in the US, which was higher than the corresponding rate in any month over the previous 40 years; in particular, petrol prices...

-Newsclick.in The Narendra Modi government has carried the practice of making low budgetary allocations for MGNREGS to its limit. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme or MGNREGS was introduced by the United Progressive Alliance-I government despite opposition from the neo-liberal lobby within it, owing inter alia to the active intervention of the Left, which was supporting that government from outside. The scheme was restrictive from the beginning: it promised a maximum...

-Newsclick.in While the farmers’ movement used the political threat of working against BJP in the coming elections, it also resorted to direct action, which is an extreme rarity under neo-liberalism. Particular battles often have a significance that goes beyond the immediate context, of which even the combatants may not be fully aware at the time. One such was the Battle of Plassey, which was not even a battle since one side's general...

-The Hindu Business Line The letter underlined that the MGNREGA has assumed more significance during the period of the pandemic The country’s top economists, researchers, and activists have written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing their concern about the funds crunch in MGNREGA and demanding immediate release of additional funds to ensure that the programme functions as the law requires. The letter, signed by several academics and intellectuals including Jean...

-National Herald The combination of ignorance, arrogance and the desire for “shock and awe” on the part of Modi government can be quite lethal, as the Indian people have learned to their great cost In the entire history of post-independence India, no single economic measure has been as devastating for the people and as utterly futile in achieving its stated objectives, as the demonetisation of currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs...