-The Indian Express Insecurity, more than poverty or indebtedness, is the key economic issue that politicians must address If social inequality is the most acutely felt social problem in India, insecurity, more than poverty, is the most acutely felt economic problem. While most measures suggest that only around one-fifth of the population today is under the official poverty line, large sections of those even much above that line are subject to...
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Women-centric reforms needed for financial inclusion; gender-neutral schemes don't work amid societal bars -Sohini Sengupta
-Firstpost.com The year is due to end, and the report card for India's flagship financial inclusion programme, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana for 2018 is out. Before diving into the specifics of the programme, it would be useful to remember that the year has been revelatory with regard to women's issues, from the #MeToo movement to the 217 years that it will apparently take to close the gender pay gap. In...
More »Invisible people: Aadhaar versus particularly vulnerable tribal groups -Jean Dreze
-The Telegraph Many families depend on two entitlements for survival: social security pensions and rations from the public distribution system Particularly vulnerable tribal groups, earlier known as primitive tribal groups, are the sort of people you may never meet unless you take the trouble to look for them. In Jharkhand, they live in small hamlets scattered over the nooks and crannies of the state’s undulating forests. Without a purpose and some local...
More »Bihar school shocker: Separate classrooms for upper caste, OBC and Dalits
-India Today The Nitish Kumar government has ordered an inquiry into the incident after the report surfaced. * Students were made to sit in different classrooms based on their caste and religion * The Bihar govt has ordered action against the principal of the school * The District Education Officer has asked for stern action against the principal A government-run school in Bihar's Vaishali district has come under scrutiny after students there complained that they...
More »Farmers and others -Christophe Jaffrelot
-The Indian Express Will the kisan take care of interests of landless peasants as well? In the aftermath of the demonstrations by farmers in the name of agricultural prices and loan waiving, it is important to remember that village India also comprises of landless peasants who have nothing to sell on the market and have never gone to a bank. Their condition has deteriorated, too, as a result not only of the...
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