-PTI/ The Telegraph Confederation of Indian Industry, which was part of the virtual pre-Budget meeting, calls for an aggressive focus on privatisation of public sector units The Budget should focus on measures to accelerate job creation and broaden the tax base by rationalising GST and personal income tax slabs to boost Consumption, industry bodies said in their pre-Budget meeting with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday. "The external scenario is likely to continue...

-Livemint.com Just as much of today’s world is locked into fossil-fuel dependence, Indian farmers are in a trap of water-guzzling crop production that is not environmentally sustainable. The annual United Nations climate conference underway in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, has entire days devoted to two crucial sectors that directly impact the lives of millions in India: agriculture and water. At a time of stagnant incomes and groundwater depletion, we must enable farmers to...

-PTI/ The Hindu ‘The Consumption decline in the rural markets continues to be led by both double-digit price increases and lower unit growth’ The country's FMCG industry continued to witness Consumption slowdown in the September quarter, with rural markets registering a higher decline in volumes compared to the three months ended June, says a report. Also, consumers continued to prefer purchasing smaller packets amid companies hiking prices in response to broader inflationary pressures,...

-The Telegraph A pan India survey of media Consumption by the Lokniti programme of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, compiled on the basis of responses from 19 states elicits answer The post-truth era is, expectedly, marked by a discerning erosion of public trust in sources of information. Mass media — both traditional and new-age avatars — has borne the brunt of this mistrust. And for good reasons too. Social...

-The Hindu Why did the Union Finance Minister urge industry giants to invest in manufacturing? Is private sector financing at an all-time low? Has government intervention to boost and spend aggressively on infrastructure come at an opportune time? The story so far: Last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked captains of industry what was holding them back from investing in manufacturing. She likened industry to Lord Hanuman from the Ramayana by stating...