-The Hindu The Finance Minister must move to an expansionary fiscal stance that prioritises job creation, public service provision It is that time of year in India, when all eyes and ears turn to the Finance Minister to learn what she will unveil in the annual Union Budget. But it is a moot point whether, even in a year of the novel Coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis, that speech will be of...

-Down to Earth Increasing budgetary allocations towards Rural Employment Guarantee Act is non-negotiable   The agriculture sector has continued to serve as a lifeline at a time when the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has hurt every economic activity in an unprecedented manner. It has not only ensured food supply but also provided livelihoods to daily-wage workers during the lockdown, providing the last resort for those rendered homeless. The Union Budget 2021-2022 to...

-The Indian Express Although there has been a lot of public discussion on digital modes of education for school children, online and video classes catered largely to urban or educated elite populations whose children went to private schools. In India, school closures post the spread of the pandemic started as early as March 2020. As months went by, concerns increased: Would learning levels drop, existing inequalities deepen? The Annual Status of Education...

-The Indian Express The current scenario is ideal for policymakers and practitioners to drive home the importance of health spending and institutional development With the first batch of anti-COVID vaccines being rolled out, the mood of the nation seems to be upbeat as it bids farewell to the pain and anguish of last year. The emergency-use approval to the vaccine developed by Oxford University and the Swedish-British pharma major AstraZeneca, manufactured in...

-The Hindu The paradox becomes clearer by recognising the circuit of financial flows beyond the real economy Divergences between the booming financial and the stagnant real sectors, which appear rather confounding as well as disconcerting, warrant an explanation. Enumerating the facts in India’s major secondary stock market, the Sensex (the benchmark index of the BSE Limited, or formerly the Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd.) has been found tracking an upward path, from 40,817 on...