-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...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: With all the buzz around double-income power couples, it is easy to believe that more and more urban families have given up the sole breadwinner model of the past. But that would be a mistake, as just released Census 2011 data shows. An overwhelming 51 per cent of urban households live on the income of a single earner, while double-income families are a distant 26 per...

-The Hindu Business Line The national sample survey shows there has been a substantial shift from paid or recognised work to unpaid domestic activities for both rural and urban women There has been much discussion on the evidence from recent NSS large sample surveys on employment, of the significant decline in women's workforce participation rates. Various explanations have been offered for this, including rising real wages that have allowed women in poor households...

-The Tribune The UPA's flagship programme MGNREGS changed the employment scene for the rural poor. While 100-day job guarantee was a novel step, loopholes and poor implementation rendered it a liability. The Modi govt hopes to gradually reinvent the scheme, if not entirely scrap it. Midway through the Congress-led UPA's second tenure - believed to be largely the courtesy of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) -...

-Deccan Herald It is difficult to understand why Indian farmers continue to be ignored. With a meager outlay every year, Indian farmers have been producing a bountiful harvest. If only agriculture was to be injected with the much need economic stimulus package, I am sure the Indian farmers can flood the country with food, fruits and vegetables. India can certainly emerge as one of the biggest exporters of agricultural commodities. In...