-The Hindu Business Line Says shift to rice will help mitigate scarcity-like situation amid dip in wheat procurement The Centre has revised allocation of rice and wheat for 12 States under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) by asking Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Kerala to shift to rice for their entire grain requirement. For others, the reduction in the quantity of wheat will be compensated with the same amount...
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States vs Centre: Which govt. increased the fuel tax rate? -Vignesh Radhakrishnan
-The Hindu What is the Opposition-ruled States’ stand on reduction of value added tax to bring down petrol prices? The story so far: Petrol is retailing at more than ₹100 per litre across India. While rising crude oil prices have added to the burden, the primary reason behind the steep increase in pump fuel prices over the last few years is the gradually rising Central Government's excise duty component. Currently, for every...
More »Do MGNREGA wages need an upward revision? -Parvathi Benu
-The Hindu Business Line This year, the average wage was hiked by a mere 20 paise to Rs.209.05; workers across States say wages are insufficient to meet their needs The annual increase in the average MGNREGA wages has been quite uneven. While the wages increased between 8 to 10 per cent in FY13, FY14 and FY21, the increase was a mere 1.6 per cent in FY20. Annual increases in individual states have been...
More »Is the govt. doing enough for the Jan Aushadhi scheme?
On Janaushadhi Diwas this year (i.e., March 7th, 2022), Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi stated that the poor and the middle-class benefited from the 'Jan Aushadhi Kendras' that were set up to provide generic drugs at affordable prices. He said that the poor and the middle class saved around Rs.13,000 crore through these stores during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of COVID 19 crisis, the 'Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India'...
More »Why the deportation of an English anthropologist has south Kerala’s fishing communities worried -KA Shaji
-Down to Earth Filippo Osella was about to launch a precise early weather-warning system the fish workers badly need Extreme weather events have made fishing a dangerous occupation along Kerala’s southern coast — at least one local fisherman dies every week, according to the state disaster management authority. An early weather-warning system would go a long way in saving the lives and livelihoods of the area’s fishing communities. And that’s what English researcher...
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