-News18.com House-building advance is available to central and state government employees for constructing a new house on a plot owned by the employee or jointly with the spouse. The scheme can also be availed while buying a new house or flat. New Delhi: In a bid to boost the housing sector, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced reduction in interest rates on house-building advance and linking to 10-year government securities yields. The...

-The Hindu United Nations-led Conference to Combat Desertification assures ‘neutrality’ by 2030. New Delhi: A two-week long United Nations-led Conference to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) ended with a commitment to achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030. Such neutrality is defined by the U.N. as ensuring that enough land is available across the world to ensure a sustainable future. The Delhi Declaration, a consensus document, agreed upon by more than 100 countries “welcomed” the proposed...

-Livemint.com Contrary to?perceptions that auto slowdown is driven by changing millennial preferences, data shows that millennials, in fact, do want to purchase?cars Through a dedicated booklet (100 Days of Bold Initiatives and Decisive Actions) and press conferences across the country, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a publicity blitz celebrating its achievements in the first 100 days of its return to power. But are the BJP’s claims and promises grounded in...

-Down to Earth A key paragraph has been proposed for deletion in the draft declaration The Delhi Declaration, to be finalised and released on September 10, 2019, at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification’s (UNCCD) Conference of Parties (CoP) 14, might downplay many issues like the role of the international financial institutions and forest ecosystems. A draft of the Delhi Declaration has been accessed by Down to Earth. The draft is currently...

-The Hindu Business Line The government must simplify and rationalise GST, kickstart rural consumption, revive agriculture and tackle the lack of credit for capital creation, says former PM Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, an eminent economist himself, feels that the Narendra Modi-led government needs to come out of its habit of headline management and address the economic challenges which the country is facing today. “We cannot afford to deny that India is facing...