-The Hindu NDZ along Kerala coast will be significantly reduced giving room for constructions Kochi: The coastal belt of Kerala is likely to witness a flurry of construction activities which may further deteriorate the quality of the fragile ecosystem. With the notification of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) 2018, the No Development Zone (NDZ) along the Kerala coast will be significantly reduced giving room for constructions for tourism facilities towards the seaward side...

-The Hindu RTI request for 13 inquiry commission reports rejected The Central Information Commission has slammed the Home Ministry for denying information on 13 inquiry commission reports on communal riots in the country. In response to an RTI request, the Ministry said it was not the custodian of the records sought. Charging the Ministry’s Public Information Officer (PIO) with “causing deliberate obstruction to the flow and dissemination of information…and not furnishing any reasonable...

-IndiaToday.in PM Modi's constituency Varanasi failed to find a place in UP Swachh Ward Contest. Lucknow: In a major embarrassment for both central and state governments, PM Modi's constituency Varanasi failed to find a place in UP Swachh Ward Contest. The state-level contest was held in Lucknow on December 25 in which the districts were evaluated on various parameters like open defecation free, solid waste management, segregation of waste, condition of public toilets,...

-Financial Express Farm loan waivers—of more than Rs 850 billion in FY18 and FY19, announced by various state governments—are the flavour of the season. This can affect credit offtake and induce further stress for banks and amount to another agrarian crisis. Farm SECtor NPAs accounted for 16% of banks’ advances under the priority SECtor lending in October 2018. Post the early waiver-announcements, credit growth in agriculture and allied activities has been...

-Hindustan Times In the discourse on agriculture, for instance, farmer suicides are cited as the biggest proof of the agrarian crisis in the country by a large SECtion. India’s political economy discourse is often a prisoner of the dictum that when there is no theory, there is a conspiracy theory. Corruption, rather than an accentuated cyclical shock after the global financial crisis, combined with the poor governance structures in Indian...