-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Make no mistake, our cumulative efforts to curb the menace of single-use plastic are just scratching the surface. And while carrybags have been the focus of much of the current discourse — simply because they are the most visible form of threat — a number of other single-use plastic items have remained under the radar. Among these are cigarette butts (yes! they are plastic), drinking...

-The Economic Times Government’s forced mega merger of public sector banks could scupper economic recovery. I am not saying we maintain a Panglossian countenance, that we smile away every difficulty. But, in any real economy, the mood is very important,’ observed Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das, speaking at an event in Mumbai late August. Sound advice. Sentiment matters. Irrational despondency can be as damaging for the economy as ‘irrational exuberance’. But...

-TheWire.in The IMA should realise that in a democratic setup, intellectual generosity comes not through jingoism but through persistent criticism, appraisal and reevaluation of government policies on health. The editorial on the current situation in Kashmir, published in the reputed British medical journal the Lancet, has stirred up a hornet’s nest. The journal has been criticised by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and by the Indian Association of Surgeons, who termed it...

-The Hindu Pandits, Dogras and Buddhists demand maintenance of current population status, rights over land With the revoking of the special status of Kashmir, Pandits, Dogras and Buddhists have made separate demands for domicile laws in the proposed Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The reasons they cite include the need to maintain the current population status, ensuring jobs for local people and the rights over land use. BJP State spokesman...

-Down to Earth The National Democratic Alliance government's move is an assault on the independence of information commissioners, writes former Central Information Commissioner M Sridhar Acharyulu Alas! I thought the Narendra Modi government is strong enough after its re-election. But now it is scared of the Right to Information (RTI) and the Chief Information Commission (CIC), as if they are monsters who can harm the power of the powerful rulers. The Information Commissioner...