-NDTV The scheme, announced during the budget in February promises Rs. 6,000 to 12 crore small and marginal farmer households each, at a total cost of Rs. 75,000 crore. As the government races to roll out PM KISAN, its flagship farmer cash handout scheme ahead of the Elections, multiple challenges lie ahead. The scheme, announced during the budget in February promises Rs. 6,000 to 12 crore small and marginal farmer households each,...
More »SEARCH RESULT
No shortcuts to income guarantee -Harsh Mander
-The Indian Express Rahul Gandhi’s proposed scheme will do more harm than good if it comes at the cost of existing subsidies for the poor. Congress president Rahul Gandhi signaled the earnestness of his party’s resolve to end poverty and hunger by announcing an untried policy instrument — a Minimum Income Guarantee for the poor. “Millions of our brothers and sisters” could not be allowed to “suffer the scourge of poverty”...
More »The Egg Debate Boils Over -- Will Governments Stop Playing With Children's Food? -Swati Narayan
-TheWire.in With the 2019 Elections around the corner, political parties should step up to the plate and display their commitment to children’s nutrition. This week, the prime minister made headlines by serving midday meals supplied by Akshaya Patra at a school in Uttar Pradesh’s Vrindavan. While he engaged in banter with the children about being late, one of the students wittily interjected that she didn’t mind as she had already eaten at home. While...
More »Farm subsidy to loan waivers: A race to compensate farmers for their losses -Ashok Gulati
-Financial Express With Elections approaching, every party is swearing by farmers and trying to woo them for their votes. The Modi government has already announced a package of Rs 75,000 crore for about 12.6 crore small and marginal farmers. While in absolute terms it looks sizeable, when it is divided by the number of farm families to be covered, it is miniscule—just `6,000 per family per year, which is about 6%...
More »Rash U-turns, half-baked plans -Jean Dreze
-The Indian Express Social policy is in danger of getting lost in electoral histrionics. As the country inches towards parliamentary Elections, a deep confusion pervades the realm of social policy. When the Narendra Modi government came to power five years ago, there were high expectations of a rollback in welfare schemes. The previous government, so went the story, had gone overboard with social spending, and Modi would set this right. In...
More »