-Press release by the Right to Food Campaign Secretariat dated February 23, 2022 * 66 percent respondents said that their income has decreased compared to the pre-pandemic period * 80 percent reported some form of food insecurity, 25 percent reported severe food insecurity * 41 percent said that nutritional quality of their diet deteriorated compared to the pre-pandemic period * 67 percent could not afford cooking gas in the month preceding the survey. * 45...

-TheWire.in Despite increasing allocated funds, the Union government has been unable to significantly improve penetration of crop insurance in terms of enrolled farmers and insured areas. India’s agriculture sector, which provides employment to more than 50% of the labour force and contributes about 17% of the gross domestic product, currently faces multiple challenges. Smaller land holdings, unfavourable climate changes events, dismal public and private investment, low monthly incomes, a high proportion of...

-The Telegraph The Union Budget reveals glaring gaps in allocations for education Appearances can be deceptive. On the face of it, education has been allotted Rs 1,04,278 crore — a rise of Rs 11,054 crore from 2021-2022 — in this year’s budget. However, this still amounts to just above 3 per cent of the gross domestic product, falling far short of the 6 per cent Public Investment recommended by the National Education...

-TheWire.in What you lose on the wings, you gain on the roundabouts.  With no other major growth investments or policy reforms in the budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman made capital investment the lynchpin of the government’s growth strategy in Budget 2022. Stressing that “the virtuous cycle of investment requires Public Investment to crowd-in private investment” she took high moral ground to say that the “Public Investment must continue to take the lead and...

-The Telegraph The Union budget is an embodiment of unequal fiscal policy The finance minister and her ministry have betrayed, once again, their lack of understanding of the Indian economy or the conditions under which most Indians are living today. Despite attempts to ‘talk up’ the supposed recovery, the economy is weak and most people are hurting. India has seen one of the biggest increases in the number of poor and hungry people...