-Hindustan Times Chinsurah, West Bengal: A 163-year-old municipality administering a small town in West Bengal has shown the world how to manage solid waste in an eco-friendly way, potentially giving urban planners and administrators the key to tackling one of the biggest civic problems. The initiatives of Uttarpara-Kotrung municipality helped the Kolkata Solid Waste Management Improvement Project win a global award, defeating nearest contenders Auckland and Milan in urban solid waste management...

-The Indian Express Banks are now caught in a dilemma even as they stare at a decline in loan growth — considering the surge in deposits since November 9. Mumbai: Struggling to cope with bad loans and the aftermath of the demonetisation decision, Indian banks have taken a hit on lending. Loan growth plunged by Rs 1 lakh crore in the fortnight that ended November 25, according to estimates. According to...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Modi government's demonetisation move seems to have taken the wind out of the sails of an already faltering job guarantee scheme. The number of households getting work in November dropped by 23% compared to the previous month and those being Turned back empty-handed jumped to a staggering 23.4 lakh, almost twice the number in October. Compared to the same month last year, work given this...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The next time you queue up at the ATM for cash—an experience that has become increasingly onerous since demonetisation— it’s not just the long wait that should worry you. There’s a high probability the cash dispenser runs on software Microsoft stopped supporting more than two years back, thus making it vulnerable to hackers. Card details could be stolen—as they indeed were earlier this year--even as you...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Pre-school kids who have a better understanding of concepts like distance and shape have a higher chance of excelling in studies in later years, a new study has concluded. Rather than numbers and alphabets, the stress should be on helping children understand these concepts, a key person behind the exercise told The Telegraph. The Indian Early Childhood Impact Study assessed around 13,000 five-year-olds from Assam, Rajasthan and undivided Andhra...