-Scroll.in India’s first chief statistician, Pronab Sen, is now country director of the International Growth Centre, which seeks to build effective growth facilities through engagement between policymakers and researchers. In this interview to Scroll.in, he speaks on the 50 days of demonetisation, its failings, its severe impact on the poor, the loss of credibility of the Reserve Bank of India, the push to make India a cashless or less-cash economy, and...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Premature deaths from kidney failure rose in India by about 38 per cent over the past decade, doctors said in a research study released on Tuesday that attributes this trend primarily to untreated or poorly managed diabetes. The study, based on an analysis of deaths in over a million households across the country, has found that kidney failure increased to 2.9 per cent of the tracked deaths between...

The term 'development' holds a positive connotation for most policymakers. However, there are examples abound, which indicates that development also cause enormous misery to the people, particularly the poor and the marginalized. Take for instance, the organizing of 2010 Commonwealth Games, due to which massive infrastructural development in the national capital was undertaken when Sheila Dikshit was the Chief Minister of Delhi. It has been estimated that almost 2 lakh...

-The Economic Times "Demonetisation in a booming economy is like shooting at the tyres of a racing car," says development economist Jean Drèze . A leading advocate of welfare policies, Drèze who was a member of the National Advisory Council during the UPA regime, tells ET that the sudden move to demonetize high-value currency notes has created a scary situation for people who live on the margin of subsistence, and that...

-The Hindu To prevent further damage to the economy and to relieve distress, demonetisation should be revoked immediately Without adequate preparation or thought, the monetary authorities and the government have taken a drastic step declaring as worthless over 86 per cent by value of the currency notes in circulation with the public. A prior large increase of lower denomination notes should have been ensured through banks and ATMs, so that overall money...