-The Telegraph Without simultaneous steps to raise productivity, passive acceptance of lost competitiveness has shaped India's approach India’s last-minute withdrawal from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement has elicited much commentary. That it happened after exciting positive signals from senior government functionaries amidst vociferous opposition by noted lobby groups surprised all. A sizeable segment, however, backs the retreat, noting India’s current economic situation and low competitiveness to describe it as economic and...

-NDTV The local police inspector allegedly threatened to file charges under the National Security Act against Irshad Khan if he continued to post about pollution on social media. Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh): Cities in Uttar Pradesh may be topping the air pollution charts this season, but their police seem to have other priorities in mind. A tweet by a differently abled student to draw attention to an instance of stubble burning in...

-Financial Express Economists see no V-shaped recovery after Q2, say any spending cut will hit growth. The economy may be in the midst of a protracted phase of slowdown and the weakness could stretch into the next fiscal, as green shoots of a recovery in key indicators — from industrial production, exports and corporate sales to non-food credit growth — are barely visible. Economists, who were earlier optimistic about a rebound in the...

-Newsclick.in NSSO data shows that of the total land under tenancy in 2011-12, about 36% was taken on lease by top 30% landowners. The State in India, barring the Left-led governments, has never been committed to implementing redistributive land reforms and securing rights of tenants. After 1991, when India adopted the policies of liberalisation and globalisation, the government stopped paying even the lip service to the programme of land reforms as they...

-The Indian Express The state government maintains that farm fires in Punjab contribute barely over 15 per cent to Delhi’s pollution. But officials in Sangrur admit there are problems, including the slow switch to “expensive” mechanical alternatives to stubble burning. Sangrur: To know why the National Capital is choking, visit Sangrur in Punjab — the district that recorded the highest number of farm fires in a single day this year. One of...