-The Hindu   Narendra Modi has to address not just the current stagnation in manufacturing but also look at ways of stimulating investments in the sector Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi, it is said, sleeps just six hours a day. Even that could become a luxury as he buckles down to his job and begins the challenging task of turning around the economy. The economic legacy handed down to him by the United Progressive...

-The Hindustan Times   What was inconceivable only few days ago in the corridors of the rural development ministry is now openly being pitched for - how to scale down UPA government's brainchild NREGA. Ministry officials are busy drawing up a blueprint for the new government to tweak NREGA in a bid to increase the efficiency of the 2006 rural job guarantee scheme. Some of the proposed changes include a focus on select blocks...

-The Indian Express   According to sources, DBT barely figured in the party's manifesto consultation process or during discussions After launching it with much fanfare and touting it as the next electoral game-changer, the Congress seems to have distanced itself from its ambitious Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) scheme. There has also been a discernible dip in the UPA government's interest in the scheme, which has manifested itself in no review meetings having taken...

-Economic and Political Weekly   Social security pensions in India have acted as a vital source of stability for approximately 2.6 crore elderly, disabled and widowed persons today. A 10-state survey in 2013 revealed that the pension scheme was running reasonably well. There is strong evidence to support the fact that the money is reaching the intended benefi ciaries without any major Leakages. The patterns of usage of the pension are indicative...

-The Indian Express How Punjab is making the best use of the flawed public distribution system. Inclusive economic growth is a political, economic and social necessity. The question is: what is the right strategy to ensure this? Most of our programmes to help the underprivileged have suffered from Leakages and inefficiencies, so that the benefits have not accrued to the targeted groups but the strain on our fiscal deficit remains. Subsidies are...