-The Pioneer New Delhi: Concerned about the water crisis and drought conditions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to Chief Ministers of all States advising them to conserve rainwater during the forthcoming monsoon. The PM had earlier written a personal letter to 'Gram Pradhans'(village chiefs) urging them to conserve rainwater.  The issue of drought conditions and water scarcity was discussed at the highest level at the NITI Aayog's governing council meeting last week....

-The Indian Express Across these regions, where mitigation measures to tackle a grave water and fodder scarcity had barely begun during the election campaign, BJP leaders had run a campaign almost entirely on issues of national security, the Pulwama attack and the Balakot airstrike. Mumbai/ Pune: Shrugging off the impact of a crippling drought, anger at slow drought relief measures and years of poor price realisations for most major farm produce,...

-The Indian Express The clean chit was given despite Lavasa’s request on file for further clarification from NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on whether the government think tank had indeed sought information from the collectors of Gondia, Wardha and Latur, and if the information was used for the PM’s visit. The Election Commission (EC) has decided to revisit its clean chit to the NITI Aayog and Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) over...

-The Indian Express Last week, the Congress had approached the EC with an allegation that the PMO had used the NITI Aayog to collect information in advance about places where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to campaign. New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (EC) has sought NITI Aayog’s comments on the Congress’s allegation that the government policy think-tank was misused by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for election purposes. A...

-The Hindu Lender cites high bad loans for drastic move in two States; Marathwada, Vidarbha to be impacted Mumbai: In an unusual move, a state-run lender, Bank of Maharashtra, has decided not to extend loans in eight zones in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh that include Aurangabad, Latur, Akola, and Amravati, which are hit by drought. The bank cited high bad loans from agricultural advances in the branches of these zones for the decision....