-BoomLive.in/ Factchecker.in Crime rate for atrocities against scheduled castes (SCs) in Gujarat was 32.5% in 2016, above the national average of 20.4%, according to Government data. “Gujarat is among states that witness minimum Dalit atrocities,” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah said on September 10, 2017, while addressing a youth town hall meeting in Ahmedabad. Shah is wrong, as the crime rate for atrocities against scheduled castes (SCs) in Gujarat was 32.5%...

-Livemint.com Digital transactions rose 13.5%—from Rs109.82 trillion in August to Rs124.69 trillion in September, the second highest for a month since the demonetisation exercise New Delhi: Digital transactions in September rose to the second highest monthly level by value since the government’s demonetisation exercise in November. Transactions through digital means rose 13.5% to Rs124.69 trillion in September from Rs109.82 trillion in August, according to provisional data released on Wednesday by the Reserve Bank...

-The Indian Express To suggest that demonetisation improved rural wages on the basis of rise in income of some workers is misleading. It halted the recovery of the rural economy, which had begun after the 2016 monsoon. There is now a consensus that the economy has been slowing down and is headed for a hard landing. Many who matter have spoken out and as Yashwant Sinha points out (‘I need to speak...

-Hindustan Times Farmer unions have been telling farmers to burn the straw until the government doles out some funds per acre for expenses that go into managing it by other means. Patiala: Seeking government aid to handle farm residue before following the ban on burning of paddy straw, farmer unions’ representatives collectively set fire to it in a 25-acre field at Shajju Bhatt village in Nabha to send across a message...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: A last opportunity for untrained elementary school teachers to retain their jobs has put the spotlight on private schools. Most of the million-plus such teachers across the country teach in private institutes. Bengal too has come under unwelcome glare: it has 1.3 lakh untrained teachers, second only to Bihar, according to human resource development minister Prakash Javadekar. The dubious statistics came to light after the National Institute of Open...