-Frontline.in To rural India, which is already reeling under multiple crises, demonetisation has come as yet another blow. WHEN the Prime Minister made the decision to withdraw Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes, he did not quite factor in the impact it would have on agriculture. Despite the rhetoric the concept of digital wallets has not yet entered rural India unlike in much of the country’s urban areas, and much of rural and...

-The Times of India BHUBANESWAR: The state government has decided to help farmers to take up construction of pigsty under Mahatma Gandhi National rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). A farmer can construct piggery shelter of 21 square metre at a cost of Rs 50,000 for four pigs under the scheme to be executed by the panchayat samiti. This decision was taken in view of the breakout of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in Malkangiri...

-The Hindu Business Line Ensuring cash availability will be a challenge for banks, too Hyderabad: Come December first week, banks may face immense pressure in disbursing cash when customers withdraw their salaries credited in bank accounts. According to bankers, there will be pressure for all stake holders during December 1-7 when salaries are disbursed for government and private sector employees across the country. According to government data, the Centre’s total salary and allowances bill...

-Livemint.com The impact of cash crunch on farmers is likely to have a cascading effect on the broader economy in southern India Bengaluru/ Chennai: P.V. Rajappan, a rice farmer in Kerala’s drought-hit Palakkad district, had been planning to drill a borewell to irrigate his next crop. He thought he would be able to do it this year. Rajappan delivered his entire harvest—10,210kg of paddy—to the state-run Civil Supplies Corporation, popularly known as...

-Livemint.com Many urban workers go back to their villages instead of settling in cities with their families, a study shows One of the biggest announcements after Narendra Modi assumed office was the announcement of the smart cities project, which involves overhauling of urban infrastructure in 100 Indian cities. In April, Niti Aayog chairman Arvind Panagariya predicted India’s urbanization rate to increase to over 60% in the next 30 years, assuming a 7-9%...