-TheWire.in Today, fuel prices are at an all-time high. Once the genie of inflation is out of the bottle, as it does once in a decade or so, no amount of narrative spinning by the Modi government will work. This year is likely to herald the return of global inflation in ways not seen in the past 20 years. We have witnessed inflation remaining rather subdued from the beginning of this century....

-Press release by National Coalition on the Education Emergency (NCEE) dated January 4, 2022 We note with concern, that governments are considering or planning school closure as Covid cases are on the rise. Delhi, Goa and Haryana governments have ordered school closure. Karnataka TAC has recommended a TPR of 2 percent to close schools and colleges. This will spell a disaster for children. Schools have recently opened after remaining mostly closed since...

-The Telegraph 'Retain the norm that excludes families owning five acres or more of agriculture land' A panel appointed by the Central Government to review the income cut-off for the Economically Weaker Sections quota after the Supreme Court questioned the existing figure favours retaining it at Rs 8 lakh, sources have said. The three-member committee’s report has been submitted to the apex court, with its contents yet to be made public. The sources...

-The Hindu In the last few months, the industries have seen 30% to 40% fall in orders Coimbatore: Micro and small-scale enterprises here have appealed to the Central and State governments not to re-introduce restrictions even as COVID-19 cases rise in the country. Coimbatore District Small Industries Association president M.V. Ramesh Babu said the raw material prices have seen a slight drop and workers are available for the current level of orders. In...

-The Hindu Business Line At present, panchayats make no contribution to the design of schemes. Their autonomy is negligible. This needs to change Decentralisation has long been recognised as an efficient instrument for promoting economic democracy, and delivering services to meet the needs of people. There are three different channels for decentralisation — political, administrative and fiscal. Political decentralisation promotes trust and cooperation between government agencies and citizens. Administrative decentralisation enables authority...