-TheWire.in The making of the Union Budget has been a far too secretive and hidden exercise. Social sector expenditure and allocations related to policy announcements should be matters of open ongoing debate. On December 20, 2017, a group of 60 eminent economists sent an open letter to the finance minister stating: “We are writing to draw your attention to two urgent priorities for the forthcoming budget.” The first was to increase the central...
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Budget 2018: It is by the privileged for the privileged -aruna roy
-The Financial Express Budget 2018: The government claims that this is the Budget for a “new India”.However, this vision excludes rural workers, small & marginal farmers and the unorganised sector. Many claims are being made about the farm sector. The fact is even the “optics” only partially meet these. The substance of this Budget shows how little it caters to farmers, and the economically & politically marginalised. The demand of farmers agitating...
More »Civil society activists oppose the enactment of the Transgender Bill in it current form
-National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) 16th Dec, 2017: National Alliance of People’s Movements is deeply concerned that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016, to which there is massive resistance across the country from the transgender, intersex, genderqueer people, is being tabled in the Winter Session of the Parliament. The Bill in its current form is an unfortunately regressive step back from the landmark judgemnt of the Supreme Court...
More »A lifeline, interrupted -Nikhil Dey & aruna roy
-The Indian Express Government is prioritising savings over MGNREGA and rights of the poor. Rambeti from Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, graphically described the predicament of MGNREGA workers like her in a recent press conference in Delhi. “The government repeatedly states that it will not let us die of starvation. But the truth is, it does not allow us to live either.” That is a terrible evaluation of MGNREGA — a landmark legislation enacted...
More »Activists slam police action on BHU students, write to President, PM
-The Indian Express The activists said they “strongly condemn the university authorities and the brutal police action on students sitting on a strike since 22nd of September protesting against the sexual harassment within the campus”. More than 40 rights activists and teachers on Sunday wrote to the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh to register their concern on the violence on the Benaras Hindu University campus where...
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