-Livemint.com Only 20% of Delhi’s air pollution can be attributed to stubble burning by farmers in Punjab and Haryana, environment minister Anil Madhav Dave said on Monday New Delhi: The spike in pollution levels in Delhi’s air is an annual winter ordeal, so is burning of paddy stubble by farmers in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana after the crop is harvested. But how much does burning of crop residues contribute to Delhi’s pollution peaks?...

-The Financial Express In one, quick, out-of-the-blue stroke, the Modi government has rendered your existing Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes worthless! In one, quick, out-of-the-blue stroke, the Modi government has rendered your existing Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes worthless! And, that must have surely left you wondering what you will do with your stash of money in denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1000. While there will be...

-The Indian Express In its report submitted to the MEA, the panel has said that in keeping with global practices, the ministry must consider doing away with these details. New Delhi: IN VIEW of complaints, especially from women, of procedural harassment in passport offices, an inter-ministerial panel has recommended that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) should do away with the practice of printing details of a person’s father, mother or spouse...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The government is set to amend the guidelines for a scholarship scheme for tribal research students, linking selections to how they score in the National Eligibility Test that aspiring college teachers need to clear. Sources in the tribal affairs ministry said the proposed guidelines - that might also cap the age of applicants at 33 - could be notified before this month ends. At present, tribal candidates, irrespective of...

-The Indian Express Agriculture’s contribution to poverty reduction is five times more than that of metropolitan centres Speaking at the third BRICS Urbanisation Forum in Visakhapatnam on September 14, Deputy Chairman of the Niti Ayog, Arvind panagariya, announced that “Without cities we can’t grow rapidly”. He added, “urbanisation plays an important role in poverty alleviation”. Both claims are exaggerated and somewhat misleading. A recent report prepared for the UN points out that, over...