-The Hindu Kerala today is not generating enough jobs to meet the expectations of educated Keralites entering the labour market. Changing this is vital and doable Kerala’s development model is in focus yet again as the newly elected Left Democratic Front government is in the process of evolving a vision for the State’s economy. On the one hand, Kerala has made spectacular achievements in land reforms, education, and health since its formation. Amartya...

-Livemint.com The report also suggested revising pay under MGNREGS on the basis of Consumer Price Index for Rural (CPI-Rural) as the appropriate index New Delhi: The finance ministry has rejected a report by the rural development ministry, which recommended that wages under the national rural employment guarantee scheme (NREGS) be made equal to or higher than the minimum wage determined by state governments. The report prepared by a panel headed by S....

-Livemint.com Fresh fund infusion means the overall budget allocation for MGNREGS in 2016-17 will be Rs43,500 crore New Delhi: The Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government has increased the budget for the national rural employment guarantee scheme by Rs.5,000 crore to Rs.43,500 crore for 2016-17, minister of state for rural development Ram Kripal Yadav told Parliament on Monday. The scheme “will not be shut down but strengthened. It is a special direction...

-The Hindu A levy on firms, resources from which are earmarked for vocational training, is what could help the country bridge the skill gap in its workforce. Financing technical vocational education and training (VET) is costlier than general education due to its technical nature. Pre-service training requires the installation of equipment and trained instructors to train youth. This raises the cost of training, and remains a factor preventing pre-service training from expanding...

-The Hindu We need to rethink social safety nets in India’s growing economy so that they can also focus on the accidents of life rather than solely on the accidents of birth. Sometimes the grand narratives of the Left and the Right do not seem to have any relationship with the lived experiences of ordinary Indians. For the past two decades, the Left has tried to expand social welfare programmes for the...