-The Economic Times BENGALURU: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s pro-farmer pro-rural budget has largely got a thumbs down from farm activists and agriculture experts in Karnataka, a state with 91 percent of its area reeling under severe drought and a rural economy collapse post-demonetisation. The state’s current agriculture growth rate, despite the drought, is an estimated 4.2 per cent, marginally higher than the 4.1 per cent that Jaitley has projected for the country....

-Firstpost.com It was a replay of last year. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley read out his budget speech, paying special attention to agriculture and rural areas. He highlighted a few figures. The media caught on to his words and figures and declared the budget to be pro-farmer, pro-rural and pro-poor. We analysed the FM speech in our KisanSansad, held this year at Jantar Mantar, to coincide with the budget presentation. We were disappointed...

-NDTV The "highest ever allocation" to NREGA (which also led to it trending on Twitter)  in the Union Budget has provided a useful opportunity to raise some pressing issues related to the implementation of the scheme. It is natural, and welcome, that the government turn to NREGA to provide much-needed relief to those whose already precarious lives have been disrupted by demonetization, a man-made economic disaster. Widespread reports of job losses...

-Livemint.com It should lay to rest the ongoing debate about this government’s attempt to radically restructure India’s welfare architecture There were no surprises—no helicopter drop of money into Jan-Dhan accounts, no move to dismantle ongoing welfare schemes in favour of a universal basic income (UBI). Far from being the populist, game-changing budget that many had expected, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley presented a sombre, status quo budget which, apart from some tinkering...

-The Hindu FM allocates Rs.48,000 crore for MGNREGA; says it will be brought under digital scrutiny The Mahatma Gandhi National rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), once described by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “living monument of the UPA’s failure,” got its highest ever allocation — Rs.48,000 crore — since its inception over a decade ago.   Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, however, indicated that the funds dispensed would come under increased digital scrutiny. “The...