-The Telegraph New Delhi: A Constitution bench has ruled that the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are entitled to affirmative action in promotions, quashing a 1997 government memo that withdrew the benefit. Friday's verdict by the five-judge Supreme Court bench does not necessarily mean that the Centre and state governments - to which the judgment applies equally - are bound to offer benefits in promotion to all Dalit and tribal employees from...

-The Indian Express Focusing on private asset creation will only exacerbate its design and implementation failures. In his budget speech, Arun Jaitley shied away from taking a tough stand on the MGNREGA. In a seemingly non-controversial comment, he emphasised that "wage Employment would be provided under MGNREGA through works that are more productive, asset creating and substantively linked to agriculture and allied activities". The subtext, however, is controversial. As argued below, far...

-Outlook India To the social subsidy whiners, please check corporate write-offs column The TV anchor asked eagerly of Arun Jaitley whether he would take hard decisions or, in the case of a bad drought, revert to loan waivers and (obviously wasteful) subsidies. The finance minister replied that it depended on the situation as it unfolded but he hoped he wouldn't have to return to such steps. "We hope so too," said...

-The Hindu Business Line A Budget for agriculture A Budget is, generally speaking, a poor instrument for correcting food inflation. But this one conveys a clear intent to target the economic roots of the malaise by addressing supply side concerns. It also takes a long-term view of issues affecting the sector, transcending short-term production concerns. On the demand side, the simple economic response of reducing consumption can hardly apply, without compromising on nutrition....

-PTI Government informed Rajya Sabha that an action plan has been formulated to improve the implementation of the scheme New Delhi: Noting that there are variations in demand for work under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the government on Monday said it would continue with the rural job scheme. The government also informed Rajya Sabha that an action plan has been formulated to improve the implementation of MGNREGA. "There...