Economy

Non-performing assets of the banks require attention to the recovery of their dues to examine the changes in GNPAs of banks.

A new philosophy of labour economics is flourishing because of gig recruiters who only target their requirements irrespective of whether the doers have any formal educational certificates or not and the worthiness of gig workers decides their hiring. The sole reliance on the expertise of individuals to perform the respective jobs is likely to delink the educational attainments with the jobs which in turn will also decouple the educational attainments from the pay levels. It is imperative for the education system to engrain the students with comprehensive abilities to adapt, and learn-unlearn-learn in the self-initiated mode for remaining relevant and fetch higher incomes for themselves in the changed economic spectrum. The ensuing independence of educational attainments from jobs and income may push children out of the formal education system for immediate jobs and higher incomes, which may have its implications on the overall capacity building of human resources for sustainability.

Apple growers in Kashmir Valley are on the roads to express their simmering anger due to price crashes and infrastructural bottlenecks. Out of  2.1- 2.9 million tons of apples grown in India annually, around 75 percent comes from the Kashmir valley. In order to enhance the income of apple growers, there is a need to address the infrastructural bottlenecks, technical upgradation of capabilities of horticultural staff, improvement in market intelligence system, branding and government need to regulate the pesticides. Further, there is also a need for reducing the layers in the supply chain by necessary ICT intervention. The government needs to explore Cooperative farming, strengthen farmer-produce organizations and incentivize the establishment of fruit processing units.

Prescribing a precise amount of fees may well be construed as if the council is exceeding its mandate of prescribing the norms and guidelines for charging tuition and other fees. Pricing regulation assumes particular significance in the context of the higher educational institutions, which are, as yet expected to operate as not-for-profit entities. They are prohibited from profiteering or indulging in crass commercialization. Nonetheless, unable to fill their sanctioned intake, many institutions do not invest in labs, physical facilities, infrastructure, and human resources and, thus, find themselves trapped in the vicious cycle of mediocrity. Fixing a mandatory minimum level of fees would favour such institutions but cannot be said just for the students.

Recently, Rajya Sabha MP and economist Dr. Subramanian Swamy made a bold suggestion that Income Tax be abolished to boost the economy and that the revenue loss to the public exchequer could be easily recovered through other sources. Although a good number of economists may agree that taxation is the major culprit for creating black money, they are likely to shun the idea of abolishing taxes to tackle the menace of black money, due to their orientation and training in public finance which sees taxes inevitable. Yet, a few economists should at least explore this as a possibility by factoring in all the enormities and complexities that the idea entails.