Le Journal

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu on Friday said that while the government has the exclusive power to cap airfares, it can do so in extraordinary circumstances and not as a long-term solution.The government uses its powers to cap airfares when it feels that the prices have risen above normal level, the minister told Parliament.Airfares usually rise during the festive season because of increased demand on specific routes, he said.“It is not that I can cap the fare for the entire season, entire year for a certain sector because...market demand and market supply is very very important for us to understand,” the minister said. “They kind of play in such a way that they regulate the fares on its own.”The minister added: “When you are saying deregulation, you are letting the market dynamics flow in. You’re letting the market supply and demand play its own role so that the passenger gets the ultimate benefit.”On December 6, the civil aviation ministry imposed distance-based fare caps, going up to Rs 18,000 on the longest routes, amid continued disruptions in IndiGo’s operations and a sharp spike in ticket prices. The ceiling on airfares was to apply only to economy-class tickets.Air travel has been severely affected since December 2, when a shortage of pilots and...Read more

The Centre uses its powers in extraordinary circumstances when it feels the prices have risen above the normal level, the minister said.

The Union government is likely to revamp the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and increase the number of guaranteed working days to 125 from 100, The Indian Express reported on Saturday.The scheme will be renamed the Pujya Bapu Gramin Rozgar Yojana, The Hindu reported. The proposal was discussed in the Cabinet meeting on Friday. The MGNREGS was introduced in 2005 by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance and is aimed at enhancing the livelihood security of households in rural areas. The scheme guarantees 100 days of unskilled work annually for every rural household that wants it, covering all districts in the country.Funds for the scheme are contributed by the Union and the state governments.The Times of India quoted unidentified officials as saying that the Cabinet approved the draft legislation, titled the Pujya Bapu Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Bill, that will replace the MGNREGS.The bill will be introduced in Parliament during the ongoing Winter Session, which will conclude on December 19.Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in his press briefing after the Cabinet meeting on Friday had not listed the bill among the proposals that had been cleared.Several states have demanded that the maximum working days under the scheme should be increased.In April, a parliamentary standing committee urged the Union government to raise the wages under MGNREGS to at least Rs 400 per day and...Read more

The revamped scheme will be called the Pujya Bapu Gramin Rozgar Yojana.

Economist Arvind Subramanian and political scientist Devesh Kapur examine the choices in the early years of independent India’s economy and their outcomes.