-Livemint.com The transformation of the Indian countryside has been slow and messy One of the celebrated success stories of India’s growth experience over the past decade was the rapid transformation of the countryside, with a massive shift in the rural labour market away from farm jobs. Two labour economists have now challenged the empirical foundations of that success story, raising deep questions on the nature and scale of that transformation. Their research also...

-The Hindu Business Line Although literacy levels are improving, there’s not enough learning happening. This calls for urgent attention This year, marks the 50th year of International Literacy Day. In 1966, UNESCO declared September 8 as International Literacy Day to “mobilize the international community and to promote literacy as an instrument to empower individuals, communities and societies”. At Independence in 1947, India had a literacy rate of 12 per cent, which stands today...

-The Hindu When knowledge gained is not acknowledged, and the textbook is considered the sole source of answers, education becomes a foreign language. A critique of rote learning is an educational cliché. Much has been written about it and almost every educator will passionately argue against it. However, the textbook still continues to be the holy grail of learning. You can participate in activities, test yourself, memorise information and learn. But don’t...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: As dengue cases show a steep increase, particularly in Delhi, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended introducing dengue vaccine in highburden countries like India. Two months ago, the apex committee on health, headed by the health secretary, had denied approval to a multinational firm for its dengue vaccine when it sought a clinical trial waiver in India. In May, the committee had concluded that the data...

-TheWire.in Policy makers should conduct deeper analysis on the many subtle factors that shape inflation and its effects on the Indian economy. In 1923 when Rudolf von Havenstein, the president of the German Reichsbank (later known as the Deutsche Bundesbank), recklessly initiated a money printing drive in response to the German government’s demand to spend more money, Germany was inevitably embroiled in a bout of hyperinflation and its worst crisis of the...