-Livemint.com Several Bundelkhand farmers contend that demonetisation is a direct attack on the class divide and has reduced the rising gap between the rich and the poor New Delhi: In April this year, before the monsoon set in on parched Bundelkhand, Ajay Tripathi was witness to countless cattle deaths and fellow villagers migrating in hordes to escape the aftermath of consecutive years of drought. For the young farmer from Uttar Pradesh’s Mahoba...

-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 In its first reaction, State govt. says disbursement of crop loans severely hit Chennai: Reacting to the demonetisation-triggered crisis for the first time, the Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday said that disbursement of crop loans to farmers through primary agricultural co-operative credit societies has been affected and it would severely affect food production in the State. The government was “unable” to give new loans to farmers for samba cultivation which accounts...

-The Hindu To prevent further damage to the economy and to relieve distress, demonetisation should be revoked immediately Without adequate preparation or thought, the monetary authorities and the government have taken a drastic step declaring as worthless over 86 per cent by value of the currency notes in circulation with the public. A prior large increase of lower denomination notes should have been ensured through banks and ATMs, so that overall money...

-The Hindu The massive pollution cloud enveloping northern India every year is a good example of the disconnect between official policy and ground realities. It has been known for long that burning of agricultural waste in the northern States significantly contributes to the poor air quality in large parts of the Indo-Gangetic Basin, with local and cascading impacts felt from Punjab all the way to West Bengal. Harmful fine particulate matter...