-The Financial Express Thiruvananthapuram: Ration shops in Kerala are readying to go the ATM way soon. As many as 14,500 ration retail shops in Kerala will soon be equipped with electronic point of sale (ePoS) machines, which would work as micro-ATMs. The Kerala State IT Mission has been asked to hasten a connectivity survey in rural areas to ensure uninterrupted internet connection, before introducing micro-ATM facility at all fair-price shops. Although the...

-PTI New Delhi: There is no information available about officials whose views were taken before the decision to demonetise high-value currency notes was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has said. The PMO also refused to answer a query on whether the chief economic advisor (CEA) and the finance minister were consulted before the sudden announcement was made, saying the query does not come...

-PTI More stonewalling from the ‘Reserved’ Bank of India New Delhi: Were the views of the chief economic advisor and the finance minister taken before the sudden announcement of demonetisation of high-value currency notes by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8? The Reserve Bank of India feels this query cannot be answered under the Right to Information Act as it does not come under the definition of information under the transparency...

-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...

-Deccan Herald Bengaluru: Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cardholders will soon have the option of redeeming coupons for rice and other foodgrain of their choice at general provision stores, if unhappy with the quality of ration supplies. In what appears a departure from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s pet scheme ‘Anna Bhagya’ or rice at highly subsidised rates, the department of Food and Civil Supplies has adopted the new method citing huge shortfall in...