-The Tribune Consolidation of non-dominant OBCs and Dalits the primary reason Prashant ‘PK’ KISHOR has upset his greatest supporters, India’s English-speaking liberals, by saying that the BJP is going to be the ‘centre of Indian polity’ for decades to come, and that one should not ‘ever get into the trap that people are getting angry and they will throw away Modi.’ This, to many anti-Modi voices, is the unkindest cut of all,...

One is almost certain to hear this from an economist that if something is available at free of cost or at a subsidised rate thanks to government intervention, then people tend to overuse or overconsume such goods/ commodities. So, the best solution is to create a market for such 'almost freely available' or 'highly subsidised' goods or commodities. Once people start paying to use or consume such goods/ commodities, they...

-The Hindu States creating artificial demand, says official; workers pushed into ‘forced labour’ by delayed payments, say activists The Centre’s flagship rural employment scheme has run out of funds halfway through the financial year, and supplementary budgetary allocations will not come to the rescue for at least another month when the next Parliamentary session begins. According to its own financial statement, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme shows...

-The Tribune Along with better forecasts, we need better monitoring and reporting of actual rainfall, water levels in rivers and incidents of landslides. More timely and location-specific forecasts that would enable the disaster management authorities to take the necessary advance actions would help. Such emergency action plans would follow only if there is a functional, accountable and participatory disaster management mechanism in place. This month’s flood disasters in two states distant from...

-PTI/ The Hindu The West Bengal CM urged everyone to follow the COVID-19 safety protocols during the upcoming Kali Puja, Diwali, Chhat Puja and Jagaddhatri Puja festivities With a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in the State since the beginning of the festive season, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged people on Sunday to follow the safety protocols rigourously to curb the spread of the viral disease. She urged everyone...