The core objective of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is to promote rural development and reduce poverty by supplementing private employment in the rural Indian economy with public employment. This paper is an attempt to verify the performance of MGNREGA by studying four sample villages from West Bengal. The study has built a social accounting matrix from which the output and employment multipliers for each village are computed. However, it shows the demand-side impact, whereas the realisation of MGNREGA’s potential positive multiplier effect depends on supply-side support, which is lacking in the villages. The paper, therefore, suggests supply-side initiatives in MGNREGA through a focus on productivity enhancement measures.
Using the Global Findex survey data, the various factors that may impact the use of banks and digital channels for remitting money have been explored. The cross-country analysis shows that while many people send/receive remittances in low-income countries, they are still transmitted through informal channels. In India, it is observed that the use of financial institutions/mobiles as remittance channels have improved from 2017 to 2021, especially for the lower-income people. The econometric analysis conducted for both conventional and digital modes of remittance transmission shows that while the banking infrastructure matters for formal remittance transmission, the poorer countries are able to address the problem of lack of adequate infrastructure by using the mobile platform.
Using the Global Findex survey data, the various factors that may impact the use of banks and digital channels for remitting money have been explored. The cross-country analysis shows that while many people send/receive remittances in low-income countries, they are still transmitted through informal channels. In India, it is observed that the use of financial institutions/mobiles as remittance channels have improved from 2017 to 2021, especially for the lower-income people. The econometric analysis conducted for both conventional and digital modes of remittance transmission shows that while the banking infrastructure matters for formal remittance transmission, the poorer countries are able to address the problem of lack of adequate infrastructure by using the mobile platform.
The tenancy conditions in Andhra Pradesh are analysed and the new tenancy act, Andhra Pradesh Crop Cultivator Rights Act, 2019, is evaluated. Highlighting the lacunae in the act, the urgent need to address the genuine concerns of tenant cultivators is pointed out.
Caste as a system of Brahminical ideas derived from Hinduism in isolation from material conditions and history, a view common to non-Marxist caste studies, is a mystification. The Marxist view of caste as a social relation of production rooted in economic, political, and cultural conditions specific to time and space is a demystification. Neither the theory of caste nor the praxis of its annihilation, which was Ambedkar’s dream, is conceivable outside Marxism.
The affluent Indians often complain about the “excessive” income taxation. Yet, very few of them figure among the top income taxpayers. This paradoxical situation results from the relatively low incomes reported by wealthy groups. On average, the wealthier a family is, the smaller the income it reports relative to its wealth.
The affluent Indians often complain about the “excessive” income taxation. Yet, very few of them figure among the top income taxpayers. This paradoxical situation results from the relatively low incomes reported by wealthy groups. On average, the wealthier a family is, the smaller the income it reports relative to its wealth.
The Supreme Court’s recent judgments on reservation for the backward classes in the urban local body elections are reviewed. A separation between social and political backwardness dehistoricises the notion of backwardness. Political backwardness should be understood as inadequate political representation in the context of social, educational and economic backwardness.
Crony capitalism is the direct consequence of the liberal and neo-liberal policies embraced by the governments. Of course, the licence permit raj has also played a substantial role in the emergence of this monster but the way the neo-liberal policies vitalised it perhaps has no counterparts anywhere in the world. The emergence of the one-party majority rule opened up new vistas for the functioning of crony capitalism.
In the context of a wave of protests in France against the pension reforms, it is necessary to ask: How did the pension reform law take shape despite public and legislative opposition, reach this point of violent contestation, and what do the protests bode for the future of a discontented republic?
In the context of a wave of protests in France against the pension reforms, it is necessary to ask: How did the pension reform law take shape despite public and legislative opposition, reach this point of violent contestation, and what do the protests bode for the future of a discontented republic?
Locating Rahul Gandhi’s “disqualification” within the legal-constitutional frameworks enables us to generate evaluative questions for thinking about constitutional democracy: What are the objectives of disqualification and how integral is it to achieving accredited and normative standards of democracy?
Locating Rahul Gandhi’s “disqualification” within the legal-constitutional frameworks enables us to generate evaluative questions for thinking about constitutional democracy: What are the objectives of disqualification and how integral is it to achieving accredited and normative standards of democracy?
