-Hindustan Times They are a valuable tool for improved discoms. But they can’t solve what are fundamentally governance failures Much has changed in the electricity sector in the last few years. Electricity generation capacity is now surplus after years of deficits, and the price of solar power has fallen by 70%. But one thing that has barely changed is the performance of the electricity distribution companies (discoms), which continue to bleed money....

-The Hindu Serious efforts must be made to deter sex selective abortion and infanticide Few things cast a long shadow on human failing as much as sex selection does. To choose on the basis of gender and eliminate new life if the gender is not ‘favourable’ can easily be among humanity’s worst moments. Last week’s case of infanticide in Tamil Nadu’s Usilampatti, historically notorious for its crude methods of killing female babies,...

-The Hindu Parliamentary panel identifies shortfalls in budgetary funding and utilisation, resulting in critical infrastructure gaps Almost half of government schools in the country don’t have any electricity or playgrounds, according to a parliamentary panel on education. It identified shortfalls in both budgetary funding and utilisation, resulting in critical infrastructure gaps. In its report on the 2020-2021 demand for grants for school education submitted to the Rajya Sabha last week, the Parliamentary Standing...

-The Hindu The latest GDP data show that there has been an undeniable decline in the growth rate over seven consecutive quarters On February 28, as per its release calendar, the National Statistical Office (NSO) put out the third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) estimates, that is, for October-December 2020. It showed that domestic output grew at 4.7% at constant prices (that is, net of inflation), compared to the same period the...

-The Hindu It is only part of mismanagement of financial institutions under BJP government watch, says ex-Finance Minister The government and the RBI didn’t bother to read the balance sheet of the Yes Bank, former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said pointing out to the unusual growth in the loan book at the rate of 35% a year between March 2014 to March 2019. The loan book registered registered a spike especially in 2016-17...