-Moneycontrol.com The fertiliser subsidy stood at Rs 1.62 lakh crore in the previous financial year. The government's fertiliser subsidy will rise to Rs 2.3-2.5 lakh crore in this fiscal but the bill may fall by 25 per cent in the 2023-24 financial year with moderation in global prices, according to industry body FAI. Fertilisers Association of India (FAI) expressed concern that the fixed cost of urea has not been increased affecting the viability...

-Moneycontrol.com The development comes amid growing evidence that Indian kids, even those from affluent backgrounds, have much lower values for height and weight against WHO standards. One expert warned that nearly 30% of Indian children under 5 are malnourished and by using the new standards, the government may show that to be just 15-20% The Indian government, for the first time, has initiated moves to develop country-specific growth standards for children amid...

-Hindustan Times The petitioners had questioned whether the Government carried out any study linking demonetisation as an effective tool to achieve the objectives of curbing black Money, terror financing or fake currency. Hardships caused due to demonetisation cannot be the basis for faulting the Government’s 2016 notification to ban currency notes of ₹500 and ₹1000, the Centre told the Supreme Court, adding that the cutoff date December 30 fixed by the Centre...

-Moneycontrol.com A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court was hearing a batch of 58 petitions that challenged the Union Government’s decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes six years ago. Junking allegations of any procedural lapses by the Centre during the demonetisation in November 2016, the Reserve Bank of India told the Supreme Court on December 5 that the central bank itself had recommended the Government of India...

-The Tribune The agency-wise share indicates that agricultural credit dispensation in the country is heavily dependent on commercial banks and points towards the poor credit delivery capability of cooperative banks and regional rural banks. THE availability of finance is a key driver of progress in any sector. In the case of agriculture, access to adequate credit assumes vital significance since most of the agriculturists are small or marginal farmers. It has been...