-The Indian Express We want Prime Minister Narendra Modi to succeed in his national campaign to tackle the vast problems of the poor in Bharat. But his one-time contractor turned Union minister for rural development is succeeding in making his own prime minister look contradictory and indecisive to the nation and the world. The prime minister talks about constructing toilets and improving sanitation, opening bank accounts for every poor, excluded family,...

-The Financial Express The proposed MGNREGA changes can help plug the leakages and enhance agriculture productivity There is good news about the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) scheme. Recent press reports reveal that the rural development minister, Nitin Gadkari, has instructed lowering of the mandatory share for unskilled wages in total expenditure from the current 60% to 51%. He has also directed, quite rightly, that 50% of the expenditure be...

-The Business Standard A five-state study on the effects of digitisation shows the poor in the country love knowledge-based programmes India's poor love digitisation for the choice and quality it offers. Discovery and National Geographic are the most popular channels in some of the poorest parts of the country, largely because the knowledge-based programmes on these channels are considered a substitute for decent education. And, the poor love shows on agriculture,...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: About half of all Indian students were perceived by teachers as lacking the skills required for the class or grade they were entering, despite the same teachers also believing that the learning environment had improved over the last decade. This was revealed in a survey of over 5,000 teachers from schools and institutions of higher education from over 200 cities across the country. The teachers identified...

-The Hindu   The central policy challenge for the new government is how to sustain social gains while ensuring that Dalits can participate more meaningfully in the economy, by sharing in the fruits of economic growth while contributing as well In his address to the nation on Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his intention to "take a solemn pledge of working for... the welfare of the poor, oppressed, Dalits, the exploited...