-The Times of India NEW DELHI: After a dry June, monsoon has made a great start in July. Average countrywide rainfall in the first 11 days of the month has been 24% above normal, which has helped reduce the overall monsoon deficit to almost a third, from 33% at the end of June to 12%. In what should boost sowing of kharif crops, all regions of the country, except the south, have...
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Budget 2019: A pro-farmer slant but just a field of dreams -Sayantan Bera
-Livemint.com * FM vows to invest widely in agriculture infrastructure, but offers little to revive rural income and demand * In terms of new schemes, the budget announced Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana for the fisheries sector and another to boost traditional industries In March 2018, Rakesh Sangwan, 27, a farmer in Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri, stopped watering his tomato plants. The crop slowly withered away and, subsequently, it was mowed down by a...
More »Economic Survey's Call for MGNREGA to Become 'Rural Distress Indicator' a Nod to Jobs Crisis?
-TheWire.in The survey also conferred a lot of credit on the Centre’s move in 2015 to implement direct benefit transfer and Aadhaar-linked payments when it comes to workers' wages. New Delhi: In tacit acceptance of the sudden surge in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) following the demonetisation move of the government in 2016, the Economic Survey (released this July 4) has called for using...
More »How Effective Have NDA's SC/ST Budgets Been? An Analysis of the Last Five Years -N Paul Divakar, Adikanda Singh, Juno Varghese and Beena Pallical
-TheWire.in There is a serious problem when it comes to both allocation and implementation of schemes for SC/ST development. People who fall under Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) groups constitute 25% of India’s total population. As we approach NDA 2.0’s first budget announcement, it is crucial to examine the policy and practice of its SC/ST budgets over the last five years. It is well established that both groups of people have...
More »Is there a case for free rides for women? -Sandip Chakrabarti & Akshaya Vijayalakshmi
-The Hindu Revenues from appropriately charging personal transport can make public transport cheap Women may soon get to travel for free on buses and Metro trains in Delhi. This gender-based public transport fare subsidy programme, announced by the Aam Aadmi Party government, has not been tested anywhere in India in the past. Proponents claim that the policy will protect and liberate women. Critics argue that it is financially unviable and unfair. As...
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