-Business Standard While the revised estimates of the gross domestic product (GDP) suggest the Indian economy turned the corner in 2013-14, concerns remain over the durability of this nascent recovery. Particularly worrying is the recent slowdown in rural wage growth, which signals a weakening of rural demand. Growth in rural wages, which had averaged 18 per cent in the previous few years, fell to less than five per cent in September...

-The Hindu The 14th Finance Commission, chaired by former Reserve Bank Governor Y.V. Reddy, has not submitted a unanimous report. Abhijit Sen, commission member, gave a dissent note to the report. The Modi government has not yet announced its decision on the report submitted to President Pranab Mukherjee's office in mid-December. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley did not table it in Parliament during the Winter Session. Mr. Jaitley is expected to present...

-Outlook Activists today accused the government of using budget cuts to "rapidly dilute and undermine" the rural job guarantee scheme MNREGA. On the occasion of 10th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), Jayati Ghosh of People's Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) alleged that an implicit budget cap was being put on the scheme and that there had been delay in release of funds. "The attack on MNREGA began before...

-Press Release of People's Action for Employment Guarantee New Delhi: Monday marks the 9th anniversary of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The Act is unique to India and is known across the world as not only one of the most innovative social security measures but also an entitlement guaranteed by law passed unanimously by both houses of parliament. Since its inception, 1 in 3 households in rural India have worked...

-The Hindu The Shanta Kumar Committee's recommendations to unbundle the Food Corporation of India are in tune with U.S.-led demands raised in the World Trade Organization The Shanta Kumar Committee report, released last week, on a range of issues relating to procurement, storage and distribution of food grains is not only deeply flawed in its reading of the situation on food security, but also short on facts. It was prepared under the...