-The Hindu Business Line   The CAG report details how these have neither helped industrial development nor boosted the economy Nearly a decade after the Special Economic Zones Act was brought into force, it is evident that the move has not helped industrial development. After examining SEZs in terms of background and objectives, fiscal incentives and facilities, approval process and administration, as well as life cycle, State-wise distribution and overall performance, parts of a...

-Livemint The development economist on the Modi government's initiatives and his stand on them, and MGNREGS The Narendra Modi-led government should consider replacing inefficient subsidies with a basic monthly income for all citizens, says Pranab Bardhan , emeritus professor of economics at the University of California at Berkeley. Bardhan, who recently sparred with economists Jagdish Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya in a debate over the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS),...

-Economic and Political Weekly   The High-Level Committee set up by the Narendra Modi government to review the major laws relating to environment protection has, in its recommendations, worked towards two sets of objectives: one, to separate business from the messiness of governance, and, two, to redraw the line of demarcation between the judiciary and the executive. Manju Menon (manjumenon@namati.org) and Kanchi Kohli (kanchikohli@namati.org) are with the Centre for Policy Research - Namati...

-Business Standard This would be in addition to 348 drugs already under price ceiling The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has capped the prices of another 52 essential drugs, in a move that could impact drug manufacturers Lupin, Cadila Healthcare and Merck. This is in addition to the 348 drugs already under a price ceiling. The majority of the 52 new drugs are antibiotics, painkillers and medicines used for treating cancer and skin...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The parliamentary estimates committee headed by BJP MP Murli Manohar Joshi, in its first report tabled on Thursday, on arsenic in ground water, has criticized the Centre for "neglecting" the serious issue that impacts at least 7 crore people across six states, according to CSIR estimates (data from different ministries and departments on the subject varies widely, the committee found). The panel has recommended that the...