-The Telegraph Nagpur: A special investigation team will probe the alleged harassment of poor women borrowers in Maharashtra by loan recovery agents of micro-finance institutions, the state government announced today after month-long street protests and an Assembly debate. Junior home minister Deepak Kesarkar assured an agitated Assembly that the state was considering a law similar to one Andhra Pradesh had enacted in 2011 to regulate the MFIs' lending and loan recovery practices. About...

-The Hindu One of the first things to get affected during natural disasters and accidents is the communication network. In a country where over a billion use Mobile phones, providing Mobile connectivity during a disaster, at least for emergency usage, is a priority. In this context, an IIT Madras team is developing a low-cost communication system that can enable rescue workers to communicate with a locally established centre and, through this centre,...

-The Economic Times If digital transactions could curb corruption and black money , Kenya would have be en the most transparent co untry in the world. About 75% of the adult population in Kenya uses Mobile phones for payments and money transfer. The value of Mobile money transactions and transfers per day is equal to 4.5% of annualised GDP of Kenya, as per a report published in an International Monetary Fund...

-The Hindu Public sector insurers, oil-marketing firms and others not to take a hit for cashless push The Centre has decided to bear the burden imposed on public sector firms on account of the many discounts and incentives offered to promote digital payments. The plan is to create a new expenditure head in the exchequer’s accounts that will absorb the costs of such measures. Public sector insurers, oil-marketing firms and others will thus not...

-TheWire.in Not only are villagers unable to access timely medical care because of the lack of cash, nutrition levels are falling, making people more vulnerable to illness. Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh: In Sultanpur Chilkana village of the Sarsawa block in Saharanpur, Resham breaks down while talking about the death of her husband Chandar. Wiping her tears, she tells us that he was very ill and needed medical attention urgently. But due to the...