-Economic and Political Weekly     Looking at the National Sample Survey Office data on employment and unemployment by major religious groups, this article finds that the Muslim community remains worse-off compared to all other religious groups on almost all indicators. It is argued that to reap the "demographic dividend", Indian policymakers and administrators will have to proactively implement at least existing social welfare programmes, particularly those that are related to school education. Sunita...

-Down to Earth   Blames Centre for non-release of funds Bihar has very little money to pay people under the Central welfare scheme that guarantees 100 days of employment to the rural poor in a year.   Central government's reluctance to release funds under its Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is said to be the main reason for the crisis. Nitish Mishra, Bihar's rural development minister, told Down To Earth that the...

-Women's Feature Service   For tribal communities, the forest has traditionally been their habitat, their source of income and their nutritional lifeline. So protection of the green cover and ready access to forest produce are issues that are connected with their survival. In India, while The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, recognises the rights of forest-dwellers over land and other resources, in reality there...

-Live Mint   What explains the mystery of job growth slowing so drastically just when growth spiked up so rapidly? The health of the economy occupied the centrestage of the political battlefield this week, as the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) engaged in a spirited debate on India's economic performance. A major bone of contention was the slower pace of job growth in the UPA's 10-year...

-Live Mint   In Gujarat public funds are committed to supporting private investment. This does not benefit the poor Amidst the clamour of India's colourful 2014 general election, a public debate of great import for India's future is underway. Leading political candidates debate which development model is best suited for a country of vast economic potential and embedded historical impoverishment. Most opinion polls rate Narendra Modi as the front-runner in the 2014 general election....