-Newsclick.in Inequality is not natural but manufactured. It’s time policymakers stopped normalising the wealth and income gap. Else, post-Covid inequality could become a permanent feature. Wealth and income inequality are more than just economic concepts. They also influence education and health outcomes, poverty levels, employment and unemployment rates, opportunities, choices, and, ultimately, happiness. Of late, several reports have investigated the impact of COVID-19 on various segments of society at the regional, national,...

-The Hindu FTAs are about pursuing economic goals. They should have little to do with achieving social or geo-strategic objectives After hurtling for many months towards finalising the India-UK FTA by Diwali, a substantial trade deal appears unlikely by this deadline. Instead of bemoaning this as a missed chance, it should be taken as an opportunity for introspecting India’s approach to FTAs, particularly with the developed countries such as the UK, European...

-The Telegraph Findings suggest if India is able to meet clean air targets, anaemia prevalence among women in the reproductive age would fall from 53 per cent to about 39 per cent Long-term exposure to air pollution could contribute to anaemia among women of reproductive age through systemic inflammation triggered by inhalation of tiny particulate matter (PM) smaller than 2.5 microns, researchers have cautioned. A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of...

-Down to Earth Southwest monsoon will likely extend till October, with detrimental impacts on Indian agriculture  Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) predicted August 25, 2022, that a third consecutive event of La Nina could be underway, leading to additional rainfall along its east coast this summer. The BOM predicted a 70 per cent chance of the La Nina event. However, the United States and UK weather agencies have claimed that the phenomenon is...

Are public sector banks (PSBs) important for the economy? Have the PSBs served the purpose for which they were created? Could the PSBs compete efficiently against the private sector banks (PVBs)? These are some of the questions, which have been answered by a chapter in the RBI Bulletin's August edition. Efficiency of PSBs Co-authored by Snehal S Herwadkar, Sonali Goel, and Rishuka Bansal (2022) of the Banking Research Division, Reserve Bank of...