Are public sector banks (PSBs) important for the economy? Have the PSBs served the purpose for which they were created? Could the PSBs compete efficiently against the private sector banks (PVBs)? These are some of the questions, which have been answered by a chapter in the RBI Bulletin's August edition. Efficiency of PSBs Co-authored by Snehal S Herwadkar, Sonali Goel, and Rishuka Bansal (2022) of the Banking Research Division, Reserve Bank of...

The transport sector is important for the smooth functioning of an economy. The supply chains for various products and by-products (both domestically as well as internationally) can work efficiently only if the transportation of raw materials and inputs, and final goods and commodities takes place without disruption.   Due to economic growth, India’s annual CO2 (i.e., carbon dioxide) emission has expanded from 1.19 billion tonnes in 2005 to 2.44 billion tonnes...

-The Telegraph Rain-induced landslide and flood destroyed 2086 houses and 13 schools besides affecting and 2403.42 hectare of agricultural land in Dima Hasao district Guwahati: The widespread destruction and disruption caused by flood and landslides in Assam’s Dima Hasao district have turned the spotlight on the creation of development projects at the “cost” of the ecology in the ecologically fragile hill district. As an inter-ministerial central team (IMCT) visited the district on Saturday...

-DailyPioneer.com Food grain traders protest against tax hike Ranchi: Different trade bodies associated with Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI) on Wednesday staged a symbolic protest against the agriculture marketing tax imposed by the State government. The trade organizations associated with fruits, vegetables, food grains, rice mills, retail traders and others participated in the protest. The trade bodies questioned the imposition of new agriculture tax in the State (Jharkhand) where...

-NITI Aayog Working Paper, ISBN: 978-81-953811-7-3 Abstract -  The importance of agriculture in an economy usually declines as it climbs the development ladder. Raising agriculture productivity has been known to be an important precursor. Labour productivity in agriculture can either be increased by higher land productivity or higher land availability per farmer and mechanisation. In India, however, the dramatic increase in land productivity through industrial farming has caused severe environmental damage and...