-Newsclick.in Joblessness is zooming, inflation is at six-year high led by food inflation, exports are down further, industrial production is stagnant and investment is at a standstill. In the last six months or so, the Modi government has supposedly been paying close attention to the sinking economy, with a flurry of meetings, announcements of freebies to corporates, fervent assurances to markets and budget shenanigans to supposedly keep the deficit in check and...

-The Indian Express From Dalit basti in Gaya to village near Dhanbad, refrain: humein kaun hatayega (who will turn us out?) Gaya, Kolkata, Lucknow: In the Scheduled Caste basti in Gewalbigha, Gaya, about 2 km from the day-and-night dharna against the CAA-NRC-NPR in Shantibagh, a group of men, all safai karamcharis with the Nagar Nigam, cheeks smeared with the bright pink abeer (coloured powder) of Saraswati puja, talk of the citizenship issue...

-Counterview.net It was a shocking reply by the Union human resource development minister to a question raised in Parliament on closure of schools in a country where lakhs of children are still out of school. On December 2, the minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, told Lok Sabha that the NITI Aayog’s education project, Sath-E, has led to 35,996 schools of different levels being merged in Madhya Pradesh, 4,312 in Jharkhand and 1,803...

-TheWire.in The state government has also reduced the cut-off age for old age pensioners from 65 to 60 years. New Delhi: Close to 42 lakh pensioners in Andhra Pradesh received their pensions at their houses from the village and ward volunteers under the state government’s ‘Intivadhakey Pension’ programme, according to a report in The Hindu. The massive doorstep pension disbursement initiative was one of the promises in the YSRCP’s election manifesto and was...

-The Hindu The economic outlook rests on government meeting investment targets and keeping promises made to stakeholders There were many expectations from the Union Budget 2020: that it would reverse the falling growth rate, reduce unemployment and rekindle the animal spirits needed to revive private investment. Does the Budget really hold out the promise on these counts? To answer the question, the Budget can be judged in terms of its effect...