-The Indian Express Govt orders 18-hr power supply to villages, all villages to be covered by 2019 THE STATE CABinet on Tuesday decided to allow central audit agencies such as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) to audit development authorities in the state, which included the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA). The previous Akhilesh government had denied permission to the CAG to audit GDA. In the second CABinet meeting chaired by Chief...

-The Indian Express UP’s farm loan waiver could prompt other states to follow suit, evade real reasons for agricultural distress The new Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, has hit the ground running. In his first CABinet meeting, he took three important decisions with regard to farmers. First, he waived farm loans of more than Rs 36,000 crore, primarily of the small and marginal farmers who comprise 92 per cent of the...

-The Hindu ‘Time to build consensus on not making such poll promises’ Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel on Thursday stressed the need for building a national consensus on loan waiver schemes. Addressing a press conference here, he said this was needed so that promises such as loan waivers are not made during elections. “We need to create consensus so that such loan waiver promises are eschewed. Otherwise, sub-sovereign fiscal challenges in...

-Down to Earth Will the Aayog's vision be any different than the top-down approach of its predecessor, the Planning Commission? WITH THE end of the 12th Five Year Plan on March 31, India’s 65-year tryst with five-year economic development planning has come to an end. In 2014, when the National Democratic Alliance government scrapped the Planning Commission and replaced it with the National Institute of Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, it announced...

-The Hindu Two separate decisions on farm loan waivers could have a domino effect Chairing his first CABinet meeting after taking over the reins in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath approved a write-off on outstanding farmer loans of up to Rs. 1 lakh taken before March 31, 2016. The State CABinet also decided to waive loans worth Rs. 6,000 crore extended to small and marginal farmers that had turned into non-performing...