-The Financial Express Every year, the onset of winter in Delhi unfailingly brings to the fore the burning of paddy residue in Punjab and Haryana, given the practice contributes significantly to the national capital’s air pollution woes, with severe consequences for public health. According to an IIT study, 17% of the PM 10 load and 26% of the PM 2.5 load in October-November in Delhi can be attributed to post-monsoon crop...

-The Economic Times Consumer inflation touched a seven-month high in October denting hopes of rate cut when the Reserve Bank of India reviews the monetary policy next month. Retail inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) rose to 3.58% in October from 3.28% in September, data released by the government showed. “While we expect the RBI’s March 2018 projection to be revised down a notch, but October’s CPI and the likelihood...

-The Hindu On the need for action-oriented research in development policy A whole new way of looking at poverty and development policy is taking shape in the world of economics. Traditionally understood as meagreness of material resources, there is a growing realisation that poverty also depletes mental resources. Understanding of how poverty impacts behaviour, what the absence of resources does to a person’s mindset can vitaminise the poverty-fighting policy toolkit. Insights, well-designed qualitative...

-Tehelka.com Learning from the recent starvation deaths in Jharkhand, the nation’s leaders must pay heed to the necessity of ensuring food security for all Food and hunger have been important issues this past month and the news has not been welcome. First it was India’s dismal rank in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2017 released by the International Policy Research Institute rankings — 100th among 119 countries. GHI looks at undernourishment, child...

-The Hindu Chennai needs integrated flood management, especially the revival of lakes and water tanks Chennai’s date with a strong northeast monsoon ought to be a cause for all-round relief since the water fortunes of more than eight million residents of the metropolitan region depend on this weather system. Yet, the torrential rains in the meteorological sub-division, exceeding the normal by 93% in the period of four days from November 1, left...