-The Times of India blog Indira Gandhi’s ‘Garibi Hatao’ swept the polls in 1971. Rahul Gandhi hopes to follow suit with NYAY (Nyuntam Aay Yojana), promising a minimum income of Rs 72,000 per year to the 50 million poorest families. Garibi Hatao flopped badly. So will NYAY unless totally rethought. Indian parties have a consensus on cash grants to the needy. Schemes in Telangana, Odisha and Jharkhand have been followed by Modi’s...
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Cash in system surges: Informal sector's back? -Mayur Shetty
-The Times of India MUMBAI: Currency in circulation touched a new high of Rs 20.65 lakh crore on January 18, 2019, way above the pre-demonetisation high of Rs 17.97 lakh crore. The increase in currency usage points to a recovery in 'informality' in the economy as the government goes easy on goods and services tax compliance and businesses continue using cash, according to Pranjul Bhandari, chief economist, India, HSBC. The acceleration of...
More »How to make Direct Benefit Transfers work for the people -Karthik Muralidharan, Paul Niehaus and Sandip Sukhtankar
-IDRonline.org Replacing India's Public Distribution System with Direct Benefit Transfers will improve efficiency, but shouldn't be implemented at the cost of individual choice. The Public Distribution System (PDS) is India’s flagship food security programme but also suffers from well-known inefficiencies. Even official government estimates suggest that a large share of public spending on the PDS does not reach intended beneficiaries. Thus, the idea of Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) in lieu of subsidised...
More »No budget for farmers -Ashok Gulati
-The Indian Express Direct income support for farmers is too late, too little The hopes of farmers for a meaningful package from the Modi government have evaporated after the announcements in the Union budget. The proposed Rs 6,000 annual direct income support to small and marginal farmers is a drop in the ocean. States like Telangana and Odisha have done much better with their Rythu Bandhu and Kalia schemes respectively. After...
More »Niti Aayog bats for direct benefit transfer to farmers -Yogima Sharma
-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Farmers could get annual income support of Rs 15,000 per hectare if the Niti Aayog’s proposal for an upfront subsidy through direct benefit transfer is accepted, said people with knowledge of the matter. The Aayog has suggested that all subsidies for agriculture, including fertiliser, electricity, crop insurance, irrigation and interest subvention be replaced by income transfer. Telangana and Odisha have adopted income support to help alleviate agrarian...
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