-The Indian Express In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on whether the number of lakes has declined substantially across the country over recent years, MoEFCC Prakash Javadekar said rapid urbanisation, Development activities and anthropogenic pressures have stressed water bodies. Over Rs 1,000 crore has been released for the conservation of 157 wetlands in the country under the National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA), Union Minister...

-The Indian Express Arvind Subramanian cited the circumstances involving Pratap Bhanu Mehta's exit and the fact Ashoka University can no longer provide space for academic expression and freedom. Noted economist Arvind Subramanian has resigned as professor from Ashoka University, citing the circumstances involving Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s exit and the fact Ashoka, even with its private status and private capital, can no longer provide space for academic expression and freedom. Subramanian had joined Ashoka...

-The Indian Express A Delhi government-commissioned employment survey has captured the severity of the job crisis plaguing the national capital. What is the highlight of the report? What does it say on female participation in the workforce? A Delhi government-commissioned employment survey, carried out between September-November 2020, has captured the severity of the job crisis plaguing the national capital, which continues to reel under the impact of the pandemic and the consequent...

Quite often it is argued by mainstream economists that a sizeable chunk of the Union Budget every year is wasted because the Government spends that on food and fertiliser subsidies. The burgeoning size of these two subsidies relative to the entire budget as well as the gross domestic product (GDP) is often used to build the argument that economic as well as environmental sustainability of the country is at stake...

-ThePrint.in From 2017-18 to 2020-21, approx. Rs 2.6 lakh crore was sanctioned for welfare of Scheduled Castes. Of this, Rs 49,722.18 crore was surrendered by ministries/departments. New Delhi: Around 20 per cent of the funds allocated for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) between 2017-18 and 2020-21 — totalling approximately Rs 50,000 crore — were left unused by multiple Union ministries/departments, ThePrint has learnt. This, sources said, has led the Modi government...