Among the measures announced by the Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on 23rd August, 2019 to arrest economic downturn, the following are noteworthy: * Allow Bharat Stage IV (BS-IV) vehicles (which are purchased till 31st March, 2020) to remain operational for the entire period of registration; * Government shall lift the ban on purchase of new vehicles for replacing all old vehicles by its various departments; *...

-The Indian Express Maharashtra does not rank among the top five states in terms of loans disbursed. It could garner just 4% share in the total loans but generated the maximum additional jobs of 15%. Just five states, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha, Bihar and West Bengal, account for about 70% of total loans disbursed — by value — under the Mudra scheme during April 2015 to December 2017, according to the...

-Business Standard Volumes during August were dragged down by the top two manufacturers, which together sell more than seven in every 10 trucks Mumbai: Sales of medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles (M&HCVs), excluding buses, considered a barometer of economic activity, more than halved in August, as transporters — struggling with excess capacity owing to a slowing economy and consumption slowdown — deferred purchases, the monthly sales data released by truck makers shows. India’s...

-The Telegraph Can issuing work permits and settling people outside Assam resolve the problem temporarily? In his Outlook article, (retired Union Cabinet secretary and a long-time North-east hand at the Centre) G.K. Pillai offered a temporary arrangement of granting ‘a five-year work permit’ to those not included in the final NRC, basically to maintain status quo, ‘to calm things down and allow a range of policy options to be developed carefully over...

-The Telegraph Kerala surpassed other states in access to good healthcare, nutrition and quality education New Delhi: A report on child well-being in India rated Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh as the best states. The report released last week covered most of the major aspects of child well-being, health, nutrition, education and protection. The India Child Well-Being report by World Vision India, a humanitarian organisation, and IFMR LEAD, a non-profit research organisation,...