-The Telegraph Why are animal spirits in quarantine? Animal spirits, the primordial driver of growth that is unquantifiable, are once more in the spotlight. The current context is the dire growth outlook from the Covid-19 impact, future prospects and how to improve these. However, the absence of animal spirits has been felt and commented upon longer than that. It can be traced as far back as the 2012-13 slowdown, or the shortfall...

-The Hindu GST Act allows change in formula, Ajay Bhushan Pandey tells Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance. Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, headed by BJP MP Jayant Sinha, at a meeting on Tuesday that the government is in no position to pay the GST share of States as per the current revenue sharing formula, sources said. According to at least two members who attended the meeting,...

-The Hindu Compensation for last fiscal paid to States using previous years’ balance of cess The Centre made up a 42% shortfall in Goods and Services Tax compensation cess collection in 2019-20 by using balance of cess from previous years, plus a transfer from the Consolidated Fund of India. Meanwhile, the GST Council, which was slated to meet this month to discuss the possibility of market borrowing to meet likely future shortfalls,...

-The Hindu The longer-term decline in the labour participation rate can be attributed to a host of factors The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted economies across the world and presented policymakers with the unenviable task of sustaining employment amidst lockdowns. However, the academic and political debates in India on unemployment, which is widely attributed to jobless growth amidst stagnation in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, predate the pandemic. It will be useful to...

-The Indian Express If done well, One Nation, One Ration Card, could lay the foundation of a truly national and portable benefits system that includes other welfare programmes like LPG subsidy and social pensions. The economic crisis precipitated by COVID-19 has focussed the country’s attention on inter-state migrants. Millions of Indians in this diverse, complex group have crossed state borders in search of better economic opportunities. The crisis, however, has highlighted their...