-The Telegraph New Delhi: Participating as a volunteer in the Centre's financial literacy campaign for a cashless economy will yield academic credits to students of higher educational institutions, including the IITs. The Union HRD ministry has launched a scheme called the Vittiya Saksharta Abhiyan (Visaka) under which heads of institutions have been advised to give students credits for taking forward the Prime Minister's agenda. "Directors of all institutions should ensure that the necessary...

-PTI Amritsar: Aiming to move towards a cashless India, the Centre and states could soon have powers to specify categories of employers who will have to pay wages either through cheques or by crediting the amount directly into the workers’ bank account. “The Government is ready with the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which seeks to empower the Centre as well as states to specify industrial or other establishments where employers...

-PTI The platform has also drafted a model Domestic Workers Regulation of Work and Social Security Bill and discussion on it was held with various stakeholders. New Delhi: Civil society organisations and trade unions under the banner of National Platform for Domestic Workers today demanded a comprehensive legislation to regulate their working condition and provisions for social security benefits. The platform has also drafted a model Domestic Workers Regulation of Work and...

-The Economic Times "Demonetisation in a booming economy is like shooting at the tyres of a racing car," says development economist Jean Drèze . A leading advocate of welfare policies, Drèze who was a member of the National Advisory Council during the UPA regime, tells ET that the sudden move to demonetize high-value currency notes has created a scary situation for people who live on the margin of subsistence, and that...

-The Hindu ‘Merchants say they have no cash. They offer low prices [for the paddy crop], which is unviable.’ BARABANKI (Uttar Pradesh): The little makeshift kiosks that dot Baruwanarendrapur’s rustic landscape, supplying it rations and other daily items, have not opened since November 9. The next nearest supply point is at Ramnagar Kasba, a good 10 km away, entailing an excruciating wait at the railway crossing on the route. Holi Gautam, a Dalit...