-The Hindu/PTI It says irregularities have been reported regarding changes to the data in the Doing Business 2018 and Doing Business 2020 reports. The World Bank on Thursday said it has decided to pause the publication of its Doing Business report following a number of irregularities regarding changes to data in previous reports. “A number of irregularities have been reported regarding changes to the data in the Doing Business 2018 and Doing Business...

-The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the persistent digital divide afflicting rural India owing to poor and insufficient internet connectivity. With the Prime Minister’s Independence Day speech acknowledging the need ‘to complete’ internet connectivity to villages, there is a renewed vigour and interest in the National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN)/BharatNet project. An important question to pose when translating policy to project is: when should...

-The Indian Express “Private consumption has lost its discretionary elements across the board, particularly transport services, hospitality, recreation and cultural activities,” the RBI said in its Annual Report for 2019-20. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Tuesday indicated that the economy which is expected to contract for the first time ever, will take “quite some time to mend and regain” the pre-Covid momentum, as the “shock to consumption is severe” and the...

-Livemint.com/ howindialives.com The recovery of India’s foreign trade from the pandemic is patchy. But it’s better in exports than in imports On 15 Aug, standing on the Red Fort ramparts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated his government’s economic vision of self-sufficiency, adding that India would aim to become the supplier to the world. A day earlier, India had reported its latest trade numbers, and for the second successive month, India’s goods exports...

-The Hindu The SOFI report and lockdown distress have renewed focus on what is also the world’s largest food insecure population Data from the latest edition of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report show that India retains the dubious distinction of being the country with the largest population of food insecure people. Estimates presented in the report which was released by several United Nations organisations show...