-The Hindu Putting more money in the hands of rural households will stir up the economy The government’s statistical machinery has begun work on revising the indices that capture the trends in consumer prices experienced in rural India. This opens up the prospect for an upward revision in the wages paid out to workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The current national average wage is just about...

-Livemint.com An effective mass transit system for India’s large urban agglomerations can flourish only with adequate financing of buses, metros, and suburban rail Among the several services that haven’t been able to keep up with the exponential growth of Indian cities is public transportation. As transit is integral to living in cities, residents have resorted to purchasing private vehicles to get around, adding to an already-severe congestion crisis in our cities. The solution...

Among the measures announced by the Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on 23rd August, 2019 to arrest economic downturn, the following are noteworthy: * Allow Bharat Stage IV (BS-IV) vehicles (which are purchased till 31st March, 2020) to remain operational for the entire period of registration; * Government shall lift the ban on purchase of new vehicles for replacing all old vehicles by its various departments; *...

-The Hindu Revenues from appropriately charging personal transport can make public transport cheap Women may soon get to travel for free on buses and Metro trains in Delhi. This gender-based public transport fare subsidy programme, announced by the Aam Aadmi Party government, has not been tested anywhere in India in the past. Proponents claim that the policy will protect and liberate women. Critics argue that it is financially unviable and unfair. As...

-Hindustan Times Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), which measures the share of population which is either working or looking for work, was 54.9% for men and 18.2% for women in rural areas. These figures were 55.6% and 25.3%, respectively in the 2011-12 EUS Two unrelated announcements on June 3 are worth taking note of in context of the challenges faced by India’s women workers. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi...