-Scroll.in JNU professor Himanshu says the economic slowdown is not the result of a one-off event like demonetisation, the slump began almost two years ago. The economy is in a trough. The first quarter of 2017-2018 saw the growth of gross domestic product (the total value of all goods and services produced in a country in a year) drop to 5.7% from 7.9% in the corresponding period last year – the...

-Livemint.com Aadhaar’s designers promised a robust privacy legislation, but the current government’s stance is that Indians have no fundamental right to privacy To govern India is to be constantly overwhelmed. So much needs to be done, and there’s so little to do it with. It’s hardly surprising that the Indian state is rarely ambitious. It seeks to manage, not to transform. One recent government initiative, less than a decade old, is by contrast...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: A fisherman from Kerala today said the people's resignation in accepting the currency recall despite the distress was not a sign of support but a reflection of how difficult it was mobilise people strapped for cash. "This note-ban is an attack on people's movements," said T. Peter of the National Fishworkers' Forum at a public meeting on 'Does Demonetisation Tackle Black Money?' "People cannot even come out to protest...

-Hindustan Times During his town hall address at IIT Delhi, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said: “Those who don’t have access to the internet cannot sign online petitions.” But how can he decide what is best for them? Recent research by Amba Kak at the Oxford Internet Institute found that financially constrained users prefer buying shorter duration Internet plans (e.g. three days) with all access, as opposed to WhatsApp-only plans that are...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government, after verbally backing the concept of net neutrality for some months, is all set to put it in writing. It is likely to make public this week the telecom department's report on the subject, which sources say will back the Centre's stance that the internet should be completely free with equitable access and without any obstruction or prioritization. The Department of Telecom report -...