-The Indian Express After the Finance Ministry rejected the recommendations of two recent government panels, MGNREGA workers in 10 states will get no raises in 2018-19. Minimum farm wages are now higher in many states. The last time the union government brought MGNREGA wages at par with minimum agricultural wages was in 2009. Two years later, in 2011, only four states — Kerala, Goa, Haryana and Mizoram — had minimum agricultural wages...

-Business Standard Although the rate of cash circulation has surpassed the pre-demonetisation level, it is not in tandem with the rate of economic growth Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) across various states are running dry with the present situation reminiscent of demonetisation of high-value currency notes one-and-a-half years back. States, including Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur and Telangana, have reported shortage of cash at ATMs. A stock-taking analysis submitted by...

-The Telegraph Mumbai: Research by the State Bank of India suggests currency notes of higher denominations, especially Rs 2000 notes, are "not getting adequately circulated in the economy" and the tendency to hoard cash may be having a domino effect. An SBI research report tries to provide a theoretical basis for the sudden evaporation of cash in some states by linking the phenomenon to the sharp decline in "income velocity" in the...

-The Indian Express Farmers and activists, who have jointly raised the issue with NHSRC say that they were given “no time” to prepare for the meetings nor are the railway officials presenting the report of impact assessment. Vadodara/ Surat: The National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRC), which has begun its meetings with “stakeholders” to assess the social impact and damage from the ambitious Ahmedabad-Mumbai “bullet train” project, is facing protests from farmers...

-Hindkisan.com Alarmingly, despite wages paid under MGNREGA being much lower than the standard minimum wage in most states, increasing number of people from rural households are applying for jobs under the employment scheme. This trend is an indicator of the mounting distress in the rural economy which is aggravated by paucity of jobs. Mocking the economic condition of the distressed rural working community, the Union Government has decided to uphold the low...