-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Narendra Modi dispensation, which has used social media as a force multiplier and reaped huge political dividends, is now having to reckon with its rumour-spreading powers that threaten to throw a spanner in the government's GST blitz. In the first three days of the rollout of the new tax regime, the finance ministry has had to step in twice to counter rumours that were spreading like wildfire...

-GovernanceNow.com As farmers protests take centre stage across the country, Swaraj Party convenor explains the ecological, economic and existential crisis behind this unrest. * We have recently seen farmers from Tamil Nadu protesting in the national capital. Then Maharashtra farmers protested, deciding not to send their produce to cities. The agitation has now reached Madhya Pradesh, leading to killings. Why there is sudden farmers’ unrest in the country? I think we...

-The Indian Express Thousands of crores are supposed to have been saved in this massive anti-corruption drive, but not a single criminal case has been filed. It is delusional to celebrate the Aadhaar tidal wave, and criminal to turn a blind eye to hard facts about exclusion. Sita of Karkala village, Lassadiya Panchayat, was one of many who spoke at the annual MKSS Mazdoor Mela in Bhim on May 1. “I...

-The Hindu While sanitation schemes in India date back to the British Raj, Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) is the latest and by far most ambitious iteration. Launched by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the end of 2014, the Rs.9,000-crore scheme aims to achieve an Open Defecation-Free (ODF) India by constructing 12 million rural household toilets across the country before October 2, 2019 — to coincide with Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birthday. But...

-PTI Allahabad: Guests in Kanjasa may not have a cakewalk in selecting which birthday party to attend on January 1. One in five persons will be blowing out candles the same day, thanks to a technical goof-up that has caused their new Aadhaar cards to mention January 1 as their official date of birth. Flooded with complaints from residents of the village near Allahabad that their cards do not mention the actual dates...