-The Telegraph New Delhi: Bihar is among the states with the poorest progress towards open-defecation-free (ODF) targets with some districts requiring 500 toilets every day to meet 2019 goals, according to a report from the non-government Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released today. The report said Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand, accounting for 60 per cent of open defecation, would need to accelerate efforts for India to reach its ODF...

-The Hindu Business Line Uncertainty over GST and related de-stocking hit industrial sector in Q1, says Anant New Delhi: Three key macro-data points released on Thursday presented a worrying picture of the economy, adding credence to the Reserve Bank of India Monetary Policy Committee’s recent fears of slower growth. The keenly-awaited first-quarter GDP growth number came in at 5.7 per cent, a three-year low and far lower than the 7.9 per cent GDP...

-The Indian Express A report, prepared by a Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) committee states that wages under the rural employment guarantee scheme were last aligned to minimum wages in 2009, and that “there is no compelling reason to align MGNREGA and states minimum wages again”. New Delhi: THE PANEL for revision of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has recommended in its final report that there...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: State governments may not be able to allot residential plots in cities to serving and former MPs, MLAs, bureaucrats, journalists and judges of their choice by exercising their discretionary power as the Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to frame guidelines for allotting public land at subsidised rates. Expressing concern over state governments' decision to allocate plots to well off people while lakhs of poor people do...

-PTI Non-Performing Govt Schools Should Be Handed Over To Private Players: Niti Aayog Government think tank Niti Aayog has recommended to hand over non-performing or "hollowed" government schools to private players under the public- private partnership (PPP) mode. The Aayog, in its recently released "Three-year action agenda", has recommended that the idea, where the private sector adopts government schools while being publicly funded on a per child basis, can be explored. According to the...