-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government on Friday cautioned people against the risk of virtual currencies, saying they are not legal tender and do not have any regulatory permission or protection in India.   In one of the sternest warnings by the authorities, the government said virtual currencies are not backed by government fiat. The caution comes against the backdrop of a surge in interest in such instruments, fuelled by astronomical...

-The Hindu * What’s the problem? The year 2017 was marked by several farmers’ protests nationwide, with a few turning violent. Last month, in New Delhi, 184 farmer groups came together from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Telangana to take part in a ‘protest walk.’ The protest once again highlighted the plight of farmers and the extent of agrarian distress. The agriculture sector is characterised by instability in incomes...

-The Indian Express As the government tries to allay swirling apprehensions, The Indian Express explains the background, aims and rationale of the proposed new FRDI law. Some provisions of The Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017, popularly referred to as the FRDI Bill, which was tabled in Parliament this August, have given rise to concerns over protection for bank deposits in the proposed law. An online petition against the Bill — “Do not...

-Down to Earth Jean Dreze argues that we should not leave the making of an equitable society to experts alone What does one make of the shameful statistic that over 200 million Indians still subsist below the poverty line? How does one square it with the equally obscene distinction that we have the world’s fourth largest number of billionaires, thus making India the second most unequal nation after Russia? Indeed, how...

-Livemint.com In India, 9 million people left farming between 2001 and 2011 largely due to distress, not because industry invited them, says Shyam Khadka, India’s representative at the FAO Shyam Khadka, India’s representative at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, says more Indians are moving out of agriculture due to distress and not because the manufacturing sector is inviting them. In an interview, Khadka calls for converting food...