-TheWire.in An unverified claim on paper that each household that appears on a 2012 list, which may or may not include all households in the village, has a toilet built for use, is enough to declare the particular village ODF. Lucknow/ Barabanki: In late September, the second floor of Vikas Bhawan in Lucknow is buzzing with activity and smelling foul. The activity is centred around achieving cleaner sanitary facilities for the...

-The Telegraph Two reports, published every 3 months of the Quarterly Employment Survey, not released by the Narendra Modi govt New Delhi: Quarterly employment data considered reliable by even critics of the Narendra Modi government have not been released for this year so far, prompting concern the Survey may be discontinued to hide potential warts that hold considerable significance in an election year. Two reports of the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) are due...

-The Indian Express Exploring the role of the black economy in political finance and how it subverts democracy. Book: Costs of Democracy: Political Finance in India Editors: Devesh Kapur & Milan Vaishnav Publisher: Oxford University Press Page: 311   Price: Rs 750 Money in politics is an issue of great concern for the Indian polity. Most believe it undermines democracy in India so that what formally looks like a great democracy turns out to be just...

-The New Indian Express A new worrisome report released by the government-owned NABARD claims that 79 per cent of Telangana farmers are struggling to repay their loans on time. HYDERABAD: Every successive government has implemented scheme after scheme “to save” the debt-ridden farmer, yet none of them seem to have made any impact. A new worrisome report released by the government-owned NABARD claims that 79 per cent of Telangana farmers are struggling...

-The Indian Express A study by Seattle-based Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation published in The Lancet says that India’s ranking of 158th in 2016 represents an improvement from its 1990 ranking of 162nd. India ranks 158th in the world for its investments in education and healthcare, a Survey of 195 countries has revealed. It ranks below countries like Sudan, Azerbaijan, China and Bosnia Herzegovina. According to the Survey, Finland tops the...