-The Hindu ‘16% publishers agree to attach names to a paper without any research work’ For as much as Rs. 20,000, any “researcher” can become a published author in predatory journals. Pravin Bolshete, a medical researcher from Mumbai, decided to delve into the world of “predatory journals” — those that charge authors for publications in journals without due scientific process — and if the name of an author could be attached to a...

-Scroll.in Inability of local officials and infrastructure to cope with the complex technologies driving the scheme could be leaving lakhs of workers unpaid. This year’s Economic Survey lists several “improvements” in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act brought about since 2014-’15. Mostly, these “improvements” are technological initiatives – greater convergence with other programmes, “geo-tagging” of MNREGA assets. They have not made a difference on two of the stated purposes – timely...

-The Indian Express On the latest justifications being given by the RBI, Franco asked “what was that economics he (Governor Patel) learnt to roll out a financial policy like Demonetisation troubling the entire population?” Chennai: Blaming the Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel for “misusing” the central bank to carry out demonetisation which “caused trouble to the common man”, D Thomas Franco, general secretary of All India Bank Officers Confederation has...

-The Financial Express The distress in rural India on account of a glut-induced crash in prices of farm commodities will likely alleviate soon as prices tend to look up, but statistical factors will keep farm-sector growth subdued in the short-term. A crash in prices kept growth in nominal gross value added (GVA) for the agriculture and allied sector above the expansion in real term in Q1FY18 for the first time in five...

For those who asked why the farmers of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states hit the streets during June and July this year, the report prepared by the Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Income could be a ready reckoner. Prepared under the chairpersonship of Ashok Dalwai, the report on Doubling Farmers’ Income after studying the trends in crop income and cost associated with 23 crops, reveals a mixed picture across the...