-Economic and Political Weekly Before I take issue with some of the points made in the NIPFP response to this comment, it may be useful to recapitulate a few points on which there appears to be agreement: (1) Aadhaar-integration can resolve only certain types of leakages, for which reliable data is unavailable; this was not adequately accounted for in the cost-benefit exercise; (2) the NIPFP study has a fragile basis (in...

-The Hindustan Times Fatehabad: If women bodies are the epitome of liberation for the fairer sex, in many villages and hamlets of Haryana, women are increasingly shunning ghunghat (veil) and leading an example. Sushma Bhadu of Dhani Miyan Khan village in Fatehabad district not only fought to swagger among bête noires, but also took a pop at the centuries-old cultural tradition that dictates she be covered with a ghunghat in public places. A...

-The Hindu “The purpose of a Budget – and the job of a Finance Minister,” P. Chidambaram declared in his speech, “is to create the economic space and find the resources to achieve the socio economic objectives.” Now that the presentation of and the spate of initial responses to the budget are behind us, it may be appropriate to ask how far the Minister went in accomplishing his self-defined task. Mr. Chidambaram...

–PTI Chaibasa (Jharkhand): Maoists are taking away foodgrains meant for mid-day meals in schools and the public distribution system, and even controlling projects under MGNREGS in Naxal-affected areas of West Singhbhum district, a senior police officer said on Saturday. This was revealed during interrogation of an arrested hard-core Maoist, identified as Cherwa, said Superintendent of Police Pankaj Kamboj. Cherwa is an influential man in the area and a member of the management committee...

-The Business Standard The Union Budget shows the charitable instincts of the government continuing to overwhelm it - though some would call it part inefficiency and part helplessness. The exemptions given to citizens on the tax they ought to pay have been exceeding the Plan expenditure, and even the total fiscal deficit as it did in 2012-13. This has prompted criticism from the Left parties and activists, who view it as evidence...