-Hindustan Times Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched the Mudra bank which will provide loans of up to Rs 10 lakh to small entrepreneurs including shopkeepers and beauty parlour owners, hoping that it will promote growth and create jobs. Short for Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Bank, the financial institution will act as a regulator for micro-finance institutions (MFIs). Mudra Bank will have a corpus of Rs 20,000 crore, Modi said...

-The Hindu While liberalisation's backers are not squeamish in admitting that democracy is an impediment to the free market economic model, farmers who are dispossessed of land argue that they are undercompensated and that the profit of private companies is not a public purpose Since it was passed by Parliament in September 2013, the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act (LARR) has been criticised from...

The agrarian crisis is far from over. Amidst news of farmers' suicide reported from parts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, an official document released in December by the National Sample Survey Organisation states that nearly 52% of India's agricultural households were indebted during July, 2012 - June, 2013. The average amount of outstanding loan per agricultural household in India was Rs. 47000 (see link below). Based on a survey of...

-Outlook Karnataka government plans to procure cloth from powerlooms for school uniforms, thus impacting the livelihood of handloom weavers in the state. The Vidya Vikas scheme of the government of Karnataka through which free handloom cloth for a pair of uniforms is provided to students of government schools is under a serious threat. Launched about 25 years ago, this unique scheme was designed to serve a dual purpose. The handloom cloth...

-The Hindu   While migrant labourers see price rise as their primary concern, they still rate caste and religion as determining factors in their voting decision After the rural poor, farmers and the urban middle class, political parties are now seeking to make a vote bank out of migrant manufacturing labourers. The Bharatiya Janata Party's election manifesto promises the concept of "Industry Family" between workers and factory owners, but does not elaborate on...