-The Hindu The Labour Ministry has mooted the idea of forming a National Social Security Authority, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and a separate Social Security Department within the ministry to provide social security to the entire population in a bid to prop up the government’s pro-worker credentials, according to a concept note reviewed by The Hindu. The authority may have all the ministers and secretaries of all ministries dealing with...

-The Hindu The formal signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) by the 12 member-countries of the mega-regional free trade agreement is a milestone for international trade and, by extension, the global economy. With worldwide trade having slowed sharply since the 2008 financial crisis and now faced with headwinds from China’s slowdown, the deal, yet to be ratified, could provide a much-needed fillip to growth. As the World Bank noted in a...

-Business Standard We should work in unison to boost growth: FM Even as the Centre harped on devolving higher share of funds to states following the recommendations of the 14th finance commission, the latter demanded that they be given more money and the Union government should retain its share of funding for centrally-sponsored schemes in the upcoming Budget. At the pre-Budget meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday, states also sought more...

-The Telegraph The Narendra Modi government's decision to abolish the National Development Council is a further blow against the federal structure of our republic. True, the NDC did not have a constitutional status, and differed in this respect from the Inter-State Council, whose activation was often demanded by the Left, precisely because it was a constitutional body, for deciding inter alia on the composition and terms of reference of finance commissions....

-The Hindu Business Line The government must open up conventional and unconventional avenues for women to find their way into the workforce Officials in the finance ministry are busy with budgetary consultations. At the outset, it needs to be recognised that the Union Budget is more than a mere accounting exercise as it lays out the vision of the government and provides a strategy to implement it during the course of that year. In...