-Livemint.com Union Budget 2018 may be able to offer sops for big farmers but it would not be able to deal with the structural challenges facing India’s rural economy The results of the Gujarat elections, in which the opposition Congress outperformed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in rural constituencies, and the growing number of farmer agitations in the country have focused attention on rural India ahead of this year’s budget. But...

-The Hindu The goal of comprehensive social security coverage remains a mere slogan in many parts of the world A recent global report on social security could serve as a useful starting point to understand the appeal of populism across the world. The World Social Protection Report 2017-19 of the International Labour Organisation could also be viewed as a blueprint for action by political parties of the mainstream. A vast majority of people...

-Scroll.in Both want states to take their advice in restructuring their primary schools. Government think-tank Niti Aayog’s collaboration with three state education departments appears to have set off friction with the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. An official of the Niti Aayog, who did not want to be identified, said the ministry has objected to the think-tank’s programme called Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital, or SATH. Under the programme,...

-TheWire.in Maharashtra cannot retain its position as a progressive state if health budget cuts become a characteristic part of its budgets. Massive budget cuts and budget under-spending in the social sector have been reported from Maharashtra over the last two years. The state spent as less as 0.49% of its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) on the public health sector in 2017-18. Incidentally, the state also witnessed high malnourishment, rising leprosy cases,...

-The Times of India At a time when cities are struggling to deal with heaps of garbage, here is an organisation that is focusing on decentralization of waste. City-based Institute Of Natural Organic Agriculture has been providing sustainable waste management solution for the past 25 years. Founded in 1992 by Late M R Bhidey and R T Joshi, the institute is currently run by three environmententhusiast entrepreneurs, Manjushree Tadvalkar, Nutan Bhajekar and...