-The Indian Express One-fourth of the urban population lives in these small towns (20,000 to 1,00,000 population). These 7 crore people need amenities to match up to their ‘urban’ status. Many of these towns may not be in the vicinity of big cities. Small towns in India are something of an oxymoron. They are far removed from cities in character and appearance and are constantly struggling to establish their “urbanness”. A...

-The Indian Express A balanced approach can reduce petrol price without affecting revenues. RBI mustn’t artificially shore up rupee The Brent crude oil price has changed from around $68/barrel in January to $70/barrel on November 9, touching a high of $86 on October 3. The rupee has also fallen from Rs 63.30 per US$ in January to Rs 70 on November 9. These fluctuations have created major policy problems for the...

-Livemint.com The production of ‘mahua’ is finally entering the formal economy as new initiatives seek to upscale this indigenous drink, selling it across the country and even the globe It is a cloudy morning in Nangur village in Bastar district, Chattisgarh. It is a settlement of a little over 400 families, considered fairly large in these parts. We make a bumpy journey down a narrow, unpaved road intermittently shaded by sargi (sal)...

-The Hindu Slowdown in consumer durables hits August manufacturing ; Retail inflation rises to 3.77% in Sept. New Delhi: Industrial production slowed to a 10-month low of 4.3% in August, due in large part to a drastic deceleration in the manufacturing, mining, and consumer durables sectors, according to official data released on Friday. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) slowed in August from its growth rate of 6.61% in July. Within the index,...

-The Telegraph They are protesting the Centre’s move to regularise online sale of medicines New Delhi: An association of brick-and-mortar Retail chemists has called on all its 800,000 members nationwide to observe a day-long strike on Friday in protest against the Centre’s move to regularise online sale of medicines. The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) has claimed that online sales would raise the risk of drug abuse and drug interactions...