-IndiaSpend.com Garhwa district, Jharkhand: Bhagiya Birjia is in a fix. Each month, the 42-year-old farm labourer gets 35 kg food grains under Antyodaya Anna Yojana--a scheme meant to provide food security for the poorest Indians--on account of being a member of the Birjia tribe, designated a ‘Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group’ (PVTG). But she is forced to share the grains with seven members of her brother’s family, who live a short walk away...

-The Hindu The slowdown is an outcome of supply-side constraints, says the economist The official GDP growth estimate for the July-September quarter, at 4.5%, is the lowest in 26 quarters. Rathin Roy, Director of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, and former member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, discusses the causes of the economy’s troubles and suggests possible remedies. Edited excerpts: * The Finance Minister says the economy is...

-The Hindu The slowdown is an outcome of supply-side constraints, says the economist The official GDP growth estimate for the July-September quarter, at 4.5%, is the lowest in 26 quarters. Rathin Roy, Director of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, and former member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, discusses the causes of the economy’s troubles and suggests possible remedies. Edited excerpts: * The Finance Minister says the economy is...

-The Hindu Education is a right, not a privilege reserved for the select elite Even though Jawaharlal Nehru University, where I teach, is in turmoil because of an incompetent administration incapable of communicating with the students and teachers, the larger crisis confronting the idea of a public university needs to be understood. From Jamia Millia Islamia to Jadavpur University, from Visva-Bharati University to Aligarh Muslim University, and from the University of Hyderabad...

-The Hindu Business Line Farmers, reeling under crop losses, feel the Centre’s crop insurance scheme is merely helping insurance firms make profits. Radheshyam Jadhav reports After completing his graduation, Ramkisan Nirmal took up a challenge. Unlike other youths who prefer to migrate to nearby cities in search of jobs, Ramkisan dreamed of becoming a farmer and prove that with modern technology and efforts, agriculture could become a profitable venture. In his drought-prone village...