News: Data from the Periodic labour force survey (PLFS) suggests that urban unemployment during January-March 2021 had declined to the pre-Covid level of around 9%, after peaking at 20.8% during the first wave. Various other estimates also point towards the same. However, it necessarily does not reflect an expansion of more productive forms of… Continue reading India’s Employment problem predates COVID. The pandemic has deepened the faultlines
Tag: gs paper 3
How to expand India’s forest cover
News: India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021 recently released its report, which attracts many questions about the definition of forests and plantation. This article gives answers to all that queries. Read here: India State of Forest Report 2021 – Explained, pointwise About definition of forest India’s definition of forest cover is in sync with that… Continue reading How to expand India’s forest cover
Time to end employer criminalisation
News: The recent budget has prioritized Ease of Doing Business (EODB) 2.0. The article says that criminalization of employers has affected productivity of Indian economy, hence there is need to relook the jail provisions and simplify the laws. Why there is need to reconsider employer criminalization? One, the excessive criminalisation of employers has painful consequences… Continue reading Time to end employer criminalisation
An MSP scheme to transform Indian agriculture
News: The article suggests a different way of designing a minimum support price (MSP) to transform Indian agriculture. How the current price stabilization policy for food grains has evolved? The Essential Commodities Act in 1955 was passed to counter price rise due to speculative private trading, and then MSP came in the 1960s. Then, a… Continue reading An MSP scheme to transform Indian agriculture
Consolidate clearances-4 steps for effective green clearances
News: Environmental Clearance to various developmental projects has been at the core of Environment- development debate. However both Environment and development are not the two different ends of a spectrum and can definitely coexist if some changes are made to our green clearance policy. What will make the system more effective? There is a… Continue reading Consolidate clearances-4 steps for effective green clearances
A growth focused monetary policy
News: To maintain a desired growth rate, Reserve Bank has kept an accommodative policy stance despite the new risks from elevated crude oil prices and the possibility of aggressive policy measures by the US Federal Reserve. What is accommodative policy stance and its impact? An accommodative stance means the central bank is prepared to expand… Continue reading A growth focused monetary policy
A change of course on privatisation
News: Recently released India’s Budget 22-23 has signalled that the government will proceed cautiously on privatisation. The article says that the retreat on privatisation is a pragmatic economic policy. Why the Budget has changed the course of privatisation? The Budget has set a modest target for privatisation of Rs 65,000 crore. Also, much of the… Continue reading A change of course on privatisation
Income tax on our rich should’ve been rejigged
News: This article discusses the view of former Reserve Bank of India governor C. Rangarajan on taxation. The article says tax rules should be made easier for better tax collections. India needs direct tax reforms because tax relief is not enough. How the government missed the opportunity to simplify the tax rate? Pandemic has increased… Continue reading Income tax on our rich should’ve been rejigged
It’s time to take a relook at privatisation
News: This article discusses that privatization and the short-term gain associated with it should not overshadow the long-term interest. Hence, there is need to take a relook at privatization. Why privatization is being considered as panacea? India’s fiscal deficit (for the Centre) in FY22 is expected to be at 6.8% of the GDP and with… Continue reading It’s time to take a relook at privatisation
Budget 2022: Some musings
News: Recently, union budget 2022-23 has been presented. This article analyses the positives of the budget and suggest way forward to deal with the challenges. What are the challenges currently faced by the economy? This Budget is presented in an extremely challenging economic situation. Pandemic has disrupted the economy and it has not recovered completely… Continue reading Budget 2022: Some musings
