-PTI New Delhi: Social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and others are rapidly changing the reading and viewing habits of an increasing number of people, mostly youngsters, according to Assocham. Based on an analysis of responses from just 235 families, the industry body claimed that Indians residing in big cities are now spending less than half the time reading newspapers and watching television as compared to 3-4 years ago. “While it is...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government, which had promised to facilitate the creation of 10 million new jobs each year, can finally boast a direct hand in carving out employment in a season of layoffs and self-inflicted economic wounds. But the jobs are in a sector the Prime Minister had promised to trim: his own administration. The foreign ministry plans to hire 400 computer-literate men and women to help it...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The government today conceded there were shortcomings in the Prime Minister Crop Insurance scheme and asked states to set up their own insurance companies to prevent "malpractices" by private firms. Speaking during a five-hour debate on the agrarian crisis in the Lok Sabha late on Wednesday night, agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said: "There are shortcomings in the implementation although the modified scheme is very good. We are...

-The Tribune Over 150 farmers’ bodies have come together on a common agenda IS the farmers’ movement in India entering a new phase? Six weeks is too short a window to answer this question with certainty. But the nature of farmers’ protest across the country since the beginning of farmers’ strike in Punjab shows signs of something new. This impression is confirmed in a two-week journey connecting farmers, organisations and movements across six...

-PTI NEW DELHI: Transactions through debit and credit cards rose by merely seven per cent post demonetisation, as against a surge of over 23 per cent in overall digital transactions, top government officials told a parliamentary panel. Officials from various ministries gave a presentation to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance on 'Demonetisation and Transformation towards Digital Economy'. The digital transactions in all modes increased by 23 per cent to 27.5 million in...