This time of the year, the corridors of Rail Bhawan on Delhi’s Raisina Road, would normally have been abuzz with activity as officials would be at work tightening the nuts and bolts of the ra
The Election Commission of India has directed the government not to announce any schemes for the states where elections are going to take place. The election commission wrote a lette
Before one takes a call on whether or not India should go down the universal basic income (UBI) route, some myths about the UBI need to be addressed. A universal basic income is an unconditional, r
From Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram to corporate talkshop Davos, it’s creating a buzz everywhere. If nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come, then people in more and mor
In the Jammu and Kashmir budget, you have announced a basic income for construction workers, and also mentioned the concept of universal basic income. What was your rationale behind it?
Pahle India Foundation (PIF) has suggested that finance minister Arun Jaitley should take cognizance of some of the possible negative effects of demonetization and take steps to minimize its negati
Sarath Davala has a strong opinion about public welfare. “The public welfare regime in India,” he says, “is an exercise in futility.” Some $20 billion (or about Rs 1.3 trill
Finance minister Arun Jaitley today invoked Mahatama Gandhi to justify the hardships faced by common people due to Narendra Modi Government’s decision of
The government in its union budget 2017-18 has increased Mahatma Gandhi Nati
The government will promote BHIM, its mobile-based payment system, with `refe
Presenting the union budget 2017-18, finance minister Arun Jaitely announced 1.31 lakh crore for the capital and development expenditure of Indian Railways. A total of Rs 55,000 crore has been allo
Each online agriculture wholesale market will receive Rs 75 lakh each for the development of cleaning, grading and packaging of the farmers` products. There are 250 regulated markets available on t
“This budget would tremendously strengthen the economic muscle of the country. It is directionally correct, fiscally prudent and strengthens the governance fabric of the nation,” said F
SEWA Bharat had initiated a unique pilot project on cash-for-food (that is, cash replacing PDS goods) in Delhi some time ago. However, the basic income pilot project in Madhya Pradesh goes
Both the finance minister and later the prime minister spoke about the highest priority given to the welfare of farmers in the budget related speeches in the parliament soon after the b
The government has made a provision in the 2017-18 budget to raise Rs 72,500 crore through disinvestment of public sector undertakings (PSUs), including listing of IRCTC, IRFC and IRCON which are r
9.44 The irresistible force of even as powerful an idea as UBI will run into the immovable object of a resistant, pesky reality. So, what is the way forward, always remembering t
The government is getting ambitious. It wants to divest some PSU shareholding and raise a staggering Rs 72,500 crore during the 2017-18 fiscal. The mood is upbeat among finance ministry mandarins d
What is the thinking behind launching the Swaraj party? To answer that question, we have to go back in time and see why we formed the Aam Aadmi Party [AAP].
Food is ready to be served on a plastic sheet laid on the floor. Children and mothers (pregnant and lactating) eagerly wait to get something down in their bellies. But before that begins, anganwadi
The biggest ever universal basic income exercise is taking place in Kenya, and if it works, it may be replicated in other parts of the world. India too is looking closely at UBI, with pilot project
A law which is supposed to make work on demand a basic right for citizens has been faltering ever since it came into effect a decade ago. And as it enters its 11th year, it faces more tha
With the Indian IT and other industries facing daunting challenges from protectionism in the US and Artificial Intelligence (AI), an ASSOCHAM-PwC study has made out a case for government –ind
