-ThePrint.in The priorities listed by Rahul Gandhi are arguably the issues India should focus on: poverty, farm distress, unemployment, health and the sense of fear. The launch of the Congress’s manifesto Tuesday marked a missed opportunity in this historic Lok Sabha election. Not because this manifesto is a bad document. As far as manifestos of mainstream parties go, this one is more cogent and thought-through than the run-of-the-mill documents. Congress president Rahul...

-Down to Earth Three in four Indian women not employed while the gender pay gap is 34 per cent Irrespective of employment category (casual and regular/salaried), organised or unorganised sector, and location (urban and rural), women workers in India are paid a lower wage rate, says a report by Oxfam, an international non-profit organisation. The gender pay gap was 34 per cent in India, that is, women get 34 per cent less compared...

-The Hindu The Communist Party of India has proposed a national employment guarantee law, named after Bhagat Singh, and unemployment allowance, in keeping with the Opposition’s narrative of joblessness to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pitch of national security. “Our fight is to defend the nation and the Constitution. Our fight is to defeat the forces of hate. We all want to be argumentative Indians, but Mr. Modi and his people have...

-The Hindu The proposal, a version of which has been previously presented to the Congress and to a foundation working with other Opposition parties, has been released in a policy paper titled ‘Strengthening towns through sustainable employment’. With rising unemployment becoming a major poll issue, and several political parties proposing solutions for it in their election manifestos, a group of labour researchers have proposed a national urban job guarantee programme for small...

-The Hindu Manifesto includes repealing AFSPA. Targeting the Narendra Modi government for a 45-year high in unemployment figures, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) in its manifesto, released on Thursday in Delhi, said the “right to work” should be enshrined in the Constitution and there should be a provision of allowance for those without jobs. The party’s campaign song too captures the party’s accusation with lyrics that say “Aab ki baar, Modi...