-The Hindu Business Line The main grouse that States have with PMFBY is that while premiums are distributed evenly across participants, claims are cornered by a few Six years after its launch and post multiple overhauls, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), India’s flagship scheme for crop insurance, has largely failed to deliver on its objectives. An expert committee steered by Ashok Dalwai recently submitted a report showing that, between 2016 and...

-Newsclick.in In an open letter addressed to Nirmala Sitharaman, 51 eminent economists have flagged less contribution to NOAPS and the lack of action on ensuring maternity benefits. Several prominent economists have proposed to the Union finance ministry to increase social security pensions and make adequate provisions for maternity benefits in the 2023-24 Union Budget. In an open letter addressed to Union finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman, 51 eminent economists—including Abhijeet Singh (Stockholm School...

-Hindustan Times Farm policymaking slowed down after the repeal of three laws in 2021. But the climate crisis, geopolitical instability and inflation have exacerbated the urgency for reforms In November 2021, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi repealed three contentious farm laws in a dramatic turnaround. The entire episode — from the passage of the laws, the protests that followed and the turnaround — had stalled national agriculture policymaking. Yet, as this column...

-Business Standard The Budgetary allocation for MGNREGS has already been exhausted, if pending liabilities for the financial year are included Demand for work under India’s biggest anti-poverty scheme increased to a four-month high in November, government data showed as Budgetary support for it is almost exhausted this financial year. More than 22.5 million people applied for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in November, the highest since August....

-The Hindu Not only are key nutrition schemes underfunded but even what is available is not being spent effectively The Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2022 has brought more unwelcome news for India, as far as its global ranking on a vital indicator of human development is concerned. India ranked 107 out of 121 countries. The Government of India attempted to discredit the index immediately in its attempt to deny the findings of...