-Newsclick.in The Economic Survey 2019-20 indicates that the Government’s broad policy direction will remain the same -- of neglecting the social sector and serving the interests of the big businesses. This year’s Economic Survey begins with emphasising the importance of wealth of nations (inspired by Adam Smith) and depicts long-term contributions of the US, China, India and various other countries in world GDP (gross domestic product). The shares of China and India...

-Newsclick.in Punjab is industrialised and its agriculture is mechanised. The state is in the grip of a downturn which has hurt the migrant poor most. The Union Budget is the talk of the town, but the economic downturn is not. The prevailing economic situation has hurt all sectors of the business and economy. One symptom of the downturn is that unemployment has broken a 45-year record. Even if these facts are known,...

-Economic and Political Weekly Despite the efforts of successive Governments, sanitation coverage remains low in India. While several studies have explored the impact of user financing on the improvement of sanitation facilities, this article looks at the conditions of housing, infrastructure and the surroundings of slums, under which different sanitation arrangements are made. The sanitation arrangements considered are of various types of ownership and cost-sharing arrangements. The findings provide useful insights...

-Down to Earth Govt agencies have procured hardly 11 per cent of targeted procurement of paddy since November 15 last year Small and marginal farmers in Bihar are unhappy and worried by the state Government’s poor procurement of paddy. The slow speed of paddy procurement that started in Bihar on November 15, 2019, has forced farmers to sell their crop to traders and agents of rice mills, according to reports from districts. The Government’s...

-Business Standard/ NIPFP Strap: It recognises that the medium-term fiscal arithmetic does not afford space for expansionary fiscal policy   In my column on the FY20 Budget (A silent fiscal crisis, July 5, 2019), I had warned that the Government faced a structural fiscal constraint that was concealed by using incorrectly optimistic numbers for revenue receipts. This year’s Budget is transparent. But the Government continues to be heavily fiscally constrained due to inadequate...