-Hindustan Times The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) said it will support the agitation being planned by United Front of Banking Unions against the government’s decision to merge ten banks. Thiruvananthapuram: The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), labour wing of the RSS on Saturday criticised the bank merger plan announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying it was done without any study and it will only protect interests of corporate houses. “No serious...

-The Telegraph The Union HRD minister says the Himalaya protects India from pollution, while Himalayan States struggle with trash Why did the students clap? That is, why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side obviously. Like the students at the 65th convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, who were subjected to the priceless nuggets of knowledge that dropped from the lips of the Union human...

-The Hindu Business Line Kolkata: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) is looking at undertaking a study on the impact of climate change and sustainability on the agriculture sector in India and come out with probable solutions to address these. According to Ajay Mathur, Director-General of TERI, there is a need to take a re-look at the cropping pattern adopted by various States keeping in mind the way climate change is impacting...

-Livemint.com A fiscal stimulus that comes from the poorest States of the country will enable them to raise capex spending, boost growth and catch up with the others On many development parameters, India appears to be almost like a continent, with different States at vastly different stages of development. Underlying such stark differences are differences in the levels of per capita incomes, and such differences have risen sharply over the past...

-Economic and Political Weekly An overwhelming proportion of the poor live in low-income States in India. These States are home to over two-thirds of the children in the 0–14 age group. Therefore, provision of comparable levels of basic social services and physical infrastructure is important to ensure balance and stability in the Indian federation. This underlines the importance of intergovernmental transfers. Conceptually, general purpose transfers are given to enable the States...