-Hindustan Times Government’s decision is aimed to cut dependence of small and marginal farmers on usurious informal private lenders. The government has streamlined lending norms in schemes such as the Kisan Credit Card to boost institutional credit flow to small and marginal farmers who make up over 90% of people engaged in agriculture and, as a class, are highly vulnerable to risks. The aim is to cut their dependence on usurious...

-The Indian Express Maharashtra govt rolls out new plan for slum-free Mumbai Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Thursday rolled out a new plan to take Mumbai towards a slum-free status. Under this plan, over 18 lakh slum dwellers residing in slum tenements, that came up between 2000 and 2011, have now been guaranteed a replacement house. However, it will not be for free. All these residents would need to pay for the...

-The Hindu Political alignments should not come in the way of defending the fiscal rights of States My fellow Finance Ministers in the States, I hope you will agree that the award of the Finance Commission is vital to State finances. Some of us who met initially at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, and later at Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, are worried about the implications of the terms of reference (ToR) of the Finance Commission...

-CaravanMagazine.in The economist Jean Drèze’s book, Sense and Solidarity, published in late 2017, deals with the impact of Aadhaar on social-welfare programmes, such as the National Food Security Act and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, among other things. Drèze was a member of the United Progressive Alliance government’s advisory council, which designed the NFSA and MGNREGS. He co-authored some of the essays in this book with colleagues and...

-Newsclick.in Around two lakh farmers will court arrest on May 14, which is the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. Various farmer organisations, under the banner of Shetkari Sanghatana Sukanu Samiti, have called for a ‘Jail Bharo Andolan’ on May 14, across the state of Maharashtra. The court arrest, by over two lakh farmers, is slated to take place on the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. They will be protesting against...