-The Indian Express Manifesto pledges to raise farmers’ incomes and increase MSPs take away focus from the structural reforms that are urgently required. It is a season of promising freebies to lure voters. The Congress leads in making these promises. The party has promised to waive farmers’ loans in Chhattisgarh within 10 days if it is voted to office. It has also promised a hike in minimum support price (MSP) of...

-The Hindu The Indian education system would be a good place to start with reforms, says the development economist Jean Drèze is possibly the world’s most famous Belgian-Indian. He has lived in India since 1979, and is an Indian citizen. As a development economist and activist, he has helped draft some startlingly pro-people legislations, such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, and the National Food Security Act, 2013....

-The Indian Express A balanced approach can reduce petrol price without affecting revenues. RBI mustn’t artificially shore up rupee The Brent crude oil price has changed from around $68/barrel in January to $70/barrel on November 9, touching a high of $86 on October 3. The rupee has also fallen from Rs 63.30 per US$ in January to Rs 70 on November 9. These fluctuations have created major policy problems for the...

-The Telegraph Public health experts said the situation reflected India’s poor budget allocation for health programmes An impending price rise that is likely to raise India’s budget for a key vaccine by less than Rs 100 crore has prompted the government to seek an international donor’s help at a time it has built a showpiece statue for an estimated Rs 3,000 crore. Public health experts said the situation reflected India’s poor budget allocation...

-The Indian Express RTE Act has not ensured delivery of quality education We have a belief that enacting a legislation is a panacea for all ills. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (popularly known as RTE Act) was born out of this mindset. This approach raises a few questions. Why should the executive arm of the government require a law to do something which it is authorised...