-The Telegraph The growing trend of India's super rich shopping offshore for citizenships of convenience Mehul Choksi is not keeping well. Or so the absconding billionaire and uncle to the absconding diamantaire, Nirav Modi, told the Enforcement Directorate when he was asked to appear in a Mumbai court not long ago. It is a pity, for had Choksi been in better health, he would have been able to enjoy his new country,...

-The Indian Express The Centre plans to transfer Rs 4,000 to small and marginal farmers under the PM-Kisan scheme by the first week of April, well before the Lok Sabha polls start. The transfer of Rs 2,000 to the bank accounts of farmers will commence from February 24 under the income support scheme and preparations are on to cover as high as 1 crore farmers on the first day of the...

-The Hindu Business Line The government should explain constant variations in GDP figures. India’s reputation for data credibility could suffer “The (revised GDP) numbers are the result of a hatchet job” tweeted former Finance Minister P Chidambaram after the Modi government published the back-series GDP data late November. Ahmed Patel, his colleague in the Congress party, added his bit: ‘In its desperate attempt to re-write GDP data, the government resembles a student...

-The Indian Express Direct income support for farmers is too late, too little The hopes of farmers for a meaningful package from the Modi government have evaporated after the announcements in the Union budget. The proposed Rs 6,000 annual direct income support to small and marginal farmers is a drop in the ocean. States like Telangana and Odisha have done much better with their Rythu Bandhu and Kalia schemes respectively. After...

-The Indian Express Why Niti Aayog’s evaluation of Sustainable Development Goals has room for improvement. The NITI Aayog should be complimented for releasing the “SDG India Index Baseline Report 2018”. The document tracks India’s progress at the sub-national level on 13 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The launch of an index that maps India’s endeavours at sustainable development is significant in several ways. The performance of the world’s second-most...