-PTI The first meeting of the SCES is scheduled on January 6, 2020 The statistics ministry has constituted a 28 member Standing Committee on Statistics (SCES) chaired by former Chief Statistician Pronab Sen to improve quality of data amid criticism of the government over political interference. “The first meeting of the SCES is scheduled on January 6, 2020. The agenda would be very broad based. We will come to know about that only...

-The Hindu Uneven inflation and sluggish growth present serious dilemmas for policymakers Policymakers face a tricky dilemma as prices in the economy continue to rise even as economic growth has plummeted to well under 5%. Food inflation, now in double-digits, has caused significant pain. The International Monetary Fund on December 23 called for “urgent” policy measures to reverse the current slowdown that has weighed down global economic growth. The warning is timely...

-The Telegraph At least 3 doctors who had visited Daryaganj police station on Friday night were initially denied access to the detainees The Indian Medical Association (IMA), the country’s largest body of doctors, has condemned what it said were “disturbing” incidents of police trying to obstruct doctors from providing medical attention to victims of police violence during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. IMA office-bearers said they had received reports from association...

-The Hindu These instructions were sent to “Restrict the movements of foreign nationals staying illegally so that they are physically available at all times for expeditious repatriation,” according to govt response in Lok Sabha The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been instructing the State governments since 2009 to set up detention centres to “Restrict the movements of foreign nationals staying illegally so that they are physically available at all times for...

-Hindustan Times PMFBY has run into many of the old problems. The one most troubling issue for farmers is a continuous delay in payouts. The average delay in payment of claims, according to official data, is more than a year from the date of harvest. When the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), the country’s flagship crop insurance scheme was launched in June 2016, the idea was to replace complicated, multiple insurance...