-The Times of India HYDERABAD: The extent of arable land in Telangana has registered a decline due to growth in industry, construction of houses, urbanisation and infrastructure development. This was revealed by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics of the government in its report on agricultural statistics for 2015-16. The report revealed that the land put to non-agricultural uses rose from 8.19 lakh hectares in 2008-09 to 8.92 lakh hectares in 2015-16. The...

-The Telegraph Nagpur: A special investigation team will probe the alleged harassment of poor women borrowers in Maharashtra by loan recovery agents of micro-finance institutions, the state government announced today after month-long street protests and an Assembly debate. Junior home minister Deepak Kesarkar assured an agitated Assembly that the state was considering a law similar to one Andhra Pradesh had enacted in 2011 to regulate the MFIs' lending and loan recovery practices. About...

-Caravan Magazine On 8 November 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an announcement declaring that notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 would not be legal tender as a part of his government’s policy to clamp down on counterfeiting and black money. It has been widely reported that this policy would directly impact the real-estate sector, which typically witnesses a significant amount of transactions that are made through cash to avoid...

-Hindustan Times Gurgaon: The demonetisation move by the Centre is turning out to be a nightmare for over 1 lakh construction workers in the city. Labour department sources said that 10,000-12,000 daily wage workers have already left Gurgaon. In the absence of work and cash, a majority of the seasonal workers are struggling to make ends meet. To get a clearer picture, the labour department has also ordered a survey. Gurgaon is a...

-The Hindu Delay in monsoon has compounded the problems of farm labourers from Bahour commune Puducherry: The double whammy of demonetisation and delay in monsoon has crippled the rural population of Puducherry as they struggle to make their ends meet. The demonetisation move has brought the construction activity across the rural areas to a standstill, throwing thousands out of jobs and without money. The construction sites in rural areas of Bahour, Villianur, Mannadipet...