-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Dengue, the mosquito-borne disease which hits India hard every year, is estimated to cost the world a whopping $8.9 billion annually. That's higher than many major infectious diseases including cholera, canine rabies and rotavirus gastroenteritis, medical journal Lancet has said quoting a new study. India shares a significant burden of the total cost. Last year, when there was an unusual surge in dengue cases in India...

-The Hindu India’s record in collecting taxes has been pathetic, and it is getting worse. The declining rates of direct taxation are an indication of the political choices of the government We now have a peculiar combination in the economic policy of India: a declared attempt at fiscal consolidation, combined with a reluctance to do what it takes to raise tax revenues. This unfortunate juxtaposition has meant a squeeze on Central government...

-The Hindu Business Line There’s room for more awareness and organisation, but the number of people benefiting from fair price shops is growing Poor people in India depend heavily on the public distribution system. A recent survey by the National Council of Applied Economic Research found that more than 90 per cent ration card-holders in Below Poverty Line (BPL) / Priority Households (PHH) and the Antyodaya Anna Yojna category purchase foodgrain at...

-The Indian Express A neat separation of poverty estimates and entitlements won’t pass muster. There was much hope about the work that Arvind Panagariya was mandated to do on the measurement of poverty. I, for one, have held from the 1980s that the official poverty line that emerged from a taskforce I chaired in 1976-77 should be shelved. Panagariya has reportedly suggested that the Tendulkar Committee’s report should be accepted for...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Delhi government has filed a criminal case in the Patiala House courts here against two Hindi channels and one English channel for telecasting videos that have been found to be doctored, a government source said. The channels had telecast videos of JNU students, including Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, at an event to commemorate Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's execution on February 9 on the...