-The Hindu There is a compelling case for spending Rs. 3.6 lakh crore on the poor, but it must be done carefully The idea of a minimum income guarantee (MIG) has caught up with political parties. A MIG requires the government to pay the targeted set of citizens a fixed amount of money on a regular basis. With the promise of the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) by the Congress party, it is...

-The Hindu Waste disposal from other toilets could turn into health and environmental nightmare New Delhi: Over the last year, a government advertisement featuring film actors Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar has been preaching the benefits of the “do gadde” or twin-pit latrines, which would create valuable farm manure from human excreta. “Shauchalaya ka ashirvad,” proclaims Mr. Kumar in the advertisement produced by the Centre’s flagship sanitation scheme Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. This month,...

-Scroll.in Effects of demonetisation and GST continue to be felt across the country on the eve of the elections At three grimy market squares in India’s pink city of sandstone palaces, the fates of a former farming couple, a former factory owner, and a graduate illustrated how difficult it now is to find even a job of hard labour, as a general election looms in a country witnessing record unemployment. It had been...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Just a day after Haryana amended the law to allow construction in sections of the ecologically sensitive Aravalis and also protect previous construction, the Supreme Court stayed the decision, slamming it as wilful adventurism that violates the court’s previous orders. The court said the Haryana government’s action was “obnoxious and contemptuous” and expressed annoyance at its “temerity” to violate the SC order that banned mining and...

-The Telegraph Centre to eat up savings in case of death of subscriber and spouse The Centre will swallow the contribution of unorganised workers under a new pension scheme in the event of the death of the subscriber and his or her spouse, according to an official notification. Contributory pension schemes usually ensure payments to dependant and unmarried children. However, the notification for the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan, announced in the interim Union...