-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Make no mistake, our cumulative efforts to curb the menace of single-use plastic are just scratching the surface. And while carrybags have been the focus of much of the current discourse — simply because they are the most visible form of threat — a number of other single-use plastic items have remained under the radar. Among these are cigarette butts (yes! they are plastic), drinking...

-The Times of India RANCHI: Noted economist Jean Dreze has accused the Centre of violating National Food Security Act by depriving a section of women from maternity benefits which is otherwise guaranteed under NFSA-2013. Survey conducted by Sakina Dhorajiwala of Libtech India along with students from Delhi University, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Tata Institute of Social Service (TISS) and Ranchi University in June 2019 has revealed that out of 232 eligible...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Underlining the importance of wetlands not only as a source of water but also as ecosystems that prevent land degradation and desertification, the Centre has identified 130 wetlands for priority restoration in the next five years and asked states to submit their respective integrated management plan by October 15. The highest number of such identified wetlands are in Uttar Pradesh (16) followed by Madhya Pradesh (13),...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday fulfil, seven months ahead of schedule, his government's promise to help women in eight crore poor households breathe easy by replacing their smoky 'chulhas' (earthen ovens) with LPG connection and stove free of cost. The PM will hand over the connection number eight crore under his government's transformational social sector scheme - Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, commonly referred to...

-The Economic Times Government’s forced mega merger of public sector banks could scupper economic recovery. I am not saying we maintain a Panglossian countenance, that we smile away every difficulty. But, in any real economy, the mood is very important,’ observed Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das, speaking at an event in Mumbai late August. Sound advice. Sentiment matters. Irrational despondency can be as damaging for the economy as ‘irrational exuberance’. But...