Telangana factory blast: PM Modi announces ₹2 lakh ex-gratia to kin of deceased, ₹50,000 for a dozen injured
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of ₹ 2 lakh to families of at least eight who died in Telangana's chemical factory blast earlier today, while ₹ 50,000 for a dozen injured. He expressed condolences and wished for the recovery of those wounded and stating he was 'anguished' to know about the incident.
'Anguished by the loss of lives due to a fire tragedy at a factory in Sangareddy, Telangana. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000: PM @narendramodi,' PMO posted on X.
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Indian Express
23 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Measuring poverty shouldn't be about calories. India needs a thali index
The publication of the survey of household consumption expenditure for 2023-24 by the National Statistics Office in January 2025 has been followed by a flurry of estimates of poverty in India. Of these, two have received the most attention. The first off the block was a report from SBI in January, which was followed by one from the World Bank. They report more or less similar findings. The former flags 'a remarkable decline in rural poverty, estimated at 4.86 per cent in FY24… urban poverty estimated at 4.09 per cent'. The World Bank's report is far more optimistic, pegging 'extreme poverty' at 2.8 per cent for rural India and 1.1 per cent for urban India in 2022-23. If poverty in India is what these estimates show, it would be a matter for rejoicing, as it would have been virtually eradicated. These estimates of poverty have brought forth many responses. The Narendra Modi government's votaries have been quick to claim that the outcome reflects the success of its policies. Critics have focused on the non-comparability of the latest consumption data with those for 2011-12 as the survey methods have undergone change since. Both neglect the issue of the standard of living in India, and whether the extant methodology of poverty measurement underlying these estimates can lead to anything at all being said on the matter. Finally, more detached observers have brought up the question of what the 'historic low' in poverty implies for the subsidy regime. Officially approved poverty measurement in India has involved estimating the level of consumption expenditure sufficient to enable the minimum calorie intake necessary for living and working. As calories measure the energy ingested through food and drink, the methodology represents a physiological approach. Arguably, though, there can be another approach. This is to recognise that humans view food in terms of the energy, nutritional value and satisfaction that it provides. Societies have over time arrived at a geographically and culturally mediated norm for food consumption. In India, arguably, this would be represented by a thali, a serving of food comprising carbohydrates, protein and vitamins. Though it may be referred to differently across the country, a thali would be understood to include rice/roti, lentils and vegetables, with dairy/meat/fish extra according to diet and affordability. Indians recognise the thali as a fairly complete and nutritionally balanced unit of food consumption, a meal. Given the centrality of the thali in Indian life, it would be appropriate to treat it as the metric by which to measure the standard of living. This implies measuring the standard of living in terms of food, but then we believe that the level of food consumption should be treated as its most important constituent. Now, a meaningful question to ask would be, 'How many thalis does the daily consumption expenditure on food translate into?' We use the price of a vegetarian thali to measure the level of food consumption across the population as it is the most basic meal. The price of a thali at Rs 30 was taken from the rating agency Crisil, which calculates the cost of a home-cooked thali using data on the cost of its ingredients sourced from the east, west, north and south of India. The value of food consumption per capita given in the consumption survey for 2023-24 was expanded to include items purchased from the public distribution system and items received free as part of social welfare programmes. We found that in 2023-24, up to 40 per cent of the rural population could not afford two thalis a day. In urban India, up to 10 per cent of the population could not afford two thalis a day. These findings indicate that levels of food deprivation are much higher than what are implied by the poverty estimates using the same data, which we recounted at the outset. A possible reason for the difference between our estimate of the standard of living and the poverty estimates from the SBI and the World Bank is that we take the expenditure on food as opposed to total consumption expenditure as the relevant measure of consumption. The reasoning was as follows. There are five items of essential expenditure – housing, conveyance, telephony, health and education – that a household cannot forgo if it is to ensure its livelihood. Now, expenditure on food ends up as the residual. Therefore, when appraising the standard of living in terms of food consumption, basing it on the actual expenditure on food would be realistic. Poverty estimation needs a food standard that is based on goods. The thali index serves this purpose while being compatible with accounting for the calorific value of food intake. We may now address the issue of subsidies. Basing their argument on the much-publicised recent estimates of poverty, some observers have queried whether subsidies in general should be persisted with in economic policy. We believe that this is a discussion that needs to take place, as for too long the discourse on subsidies has been hijacked by political parties to justify competitive welfarism. However, our findings using a thali index of consumption implies that the food subsidy needs more to be rationalised rather than eliminated. For instance, in rural India, the per capita subsidy at the 70th percentile is not much lower than it is at the fifth, even though those in the former class can afford more than twice the number of thalis even without subsidisation. Eliminating the food subsidy at the upper reaches of the distribution while enhancing it at the lower levels would now be optimal. Balakrishnan is honorary visiting professor, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram and Raj is an economist based in Patna
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Surprised by TN MLA's clean record, SC grants him bail in kidnap case
NEW DELHI: At a time when criminalisation of politics is on the rise, Supreme Court on Monday expressed surprise when it was told that Tamil Nadu MLA M Jagan Moorthy had no criminal antecedent and that led to the apex court granting him anticipatory bail in a kidnapping case of a boy. "It is a surprise on the positive side," said a bench of Justices Manoj Misra and N Kotiswar Singh when senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the MLA, said the elected representative had no criminal background. Moorthy is the president of Puratchi Bharatham party, which is an ally of main opposition party AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. "If the petitioner is arrested in connection with FIR registered at Thiruvalangadu police station, he shall be released on a personal bond of Rs 25, 000 subject to the undertaking that he shall cooperate in the investigation and will not threaten the witnesses or tamper the evidence," the bench said in its order. Moorthy approached SC challenging Madras HC's June 27 order dismissing his plea for anticipatory bail. He claimed being framed in the case on the basis of a confession statement of a co-accused, without any direct or corroborative evidence linking him to the alleged offence.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Poll-bound state's supplementary budget: 57,509 cr
Mumbai: Just three months into the financial year, the cash-strapped Mahayuti govt which faces local body polls across the state, tabled supplementary budgetary demands worth a steep Rs 57,509 crore in the state legislative assembly on Monday. This will add to the financial strain of the state which not only faces its highest-ever debt projection at Rs 9.3 lakh crore but also its steepest revenue deficit at Rs 45,890 crore for 2025-26. Supplementary demands are additional funds sought by govt beyond allocations made in the budget tabled in March. The current demands account for 8.2% of the total expenditure projected in the state budget. In the coming year, the state faces rural and urban local body polls including to high profile municipal corporations like the BMC, which will see a prestige war between the govt and the Opposition. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai The demands raised are mainly aimed at urban and rural infrastructure projects like Metro, support for municipal bodies, road and irrigation schemes and the Simhastha Kumbh Mela. Also, allocations have been suggested for welfare schemes including the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Health Scheme, Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana, schemes for the elderly, payment for female anganwadi workers and scholarships for backward students. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Texas Introduces New Benefit for "Senior Drivers" Auto Savings Learn More Undo The urban development department which controls the state's 29 municipal corporations has been allocated the highest share in the demands at Rs 15,465 crore. The PWD department which has faced agitations from contractors over unpaid dues has been allocated Rs 9,068 crore. Other departments with large allocations include public health (Rs 6,952 crore), rural devt (Rs 4,733 crore) and social justice (Rs 3,799 crore). Last year, the state faced financial strain on account of pre-poll sops like the Ladki Bahin Yojana announced with an eye on the assembly polls. The sops were worth Rs 96,000 crore. In addition, the state introduced supplementary demands worth Rs 1.3 lakh crore after the budget. The Opposition has sharply criticised the supplementary demands. "The state budget had projected a revenue deficit of Rs 45,890 crore for this year. With the additional supplementary demands of Rs 57,509.7 crore, the total revenue deficit will rise above Rs 1 lakh crore. By the end of the year, it could rise beyond Rs 2 lakh crore. It shows the extent of financial mismanagement," said NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil. However, the finance department led by deputy CM Ajit Pawar said net burden of supplementary demands would be lower. Although gross supplementary demands are Rs 57,509 crore, net burden is Rs 40,644 crore, an official statement said.
