-The Indian Express Here is a look at the elevated pollution levels and the health risks they subject us to. Delhi: The good news: Pollutants, especially particulate matter — PM10 and PM2.5, dispersed fast this Diwali in Delhi, riding on favourable weather conditions. The bad news: Air quality nosedived despite the favourable conditions. Noise levels spiked too.  Here is a look at the elevated pollution levels and the health risks they subject us...

-Livemint.com Data on incomes and wealth suggest India is far more unequal than official estimates based on consumption expenditure data suggest Inequality is in the news once again and the news is not particularly good. In a speech last month, Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan commented that increasing inequality could be curtailing world demand. Since the rich typically spend a smaller portion of their income compared with the poor—who spend...

-Newslaundry.com/Factly.in A district consumer forum in Delhi has directed Emami to pay Rs 15 lakh as damages. There is no dearth of fairness creams in the market. From promising fairness in a few days to a few weeks, these products are promoted by the icons of the film industry. A multibillion dollar industry that was once the preserve of only metros has now reached every nook and corner of the country. Emami’s...

-The Hindustan Times The stereotype of a reporter landing in a new city and then getting political insights from the taxi driver on the way from the airport is not without merit. For a visitor, the first encounter is with the cabbie, and cabbies, as assumed, have not just local knowledge, but much wisdom too. A cabbie’s views often get extrapolated and incorporated into much of the reporting. As true as this...

-Down to Earth A few villages in Haryana successfully grow cotton amid widespread destruction of the crop by whitefly in the region LOOK HERE, the red pest you see is Chrysopa,” says an excited Manisha, while navigating through her cotton field in Haryana’s Nidana village. “A single Chrysopa, a carnivorous pest, eats around 125-150 whiteflies a day,” says the 24-year-old. Further ahead in her 0.8-hectare cotton plantation, she picks another plant leaf...