-PTI New Delhi: The CPI on Monday welcomed Supreme Court holding that appeal for vote on ground of religion amounts to "corrupt practice", but said the issue of caste and language needs to be addressed "carefully". The party also wondered if the order can be taken as negation of the apex court's earlier verdict that Hinduism is a "way of life". Monday's verdict also held that appeal for voting on the grounds of...

-Scroll.in India’s first chief statistician, Pronab Sen, is now country director of the International Growth Centre, which seeks to build effective growth facilities through engagement between policymakers and researchers. In this interview to Scroll.in, he speaks on the 50 days of demonetisation, its failings, its severe impact on the poor, the loss of credibility of the Reserve Bank of India, the push to make India a cashless or less-cash economy, and...

-The Indian Express Say digital wallets have helped but can’t replace cash. - Shakuntala Vani (51) from Kandivli may not possibly have any black money. She sells vegetables for a living. Having managed somehow since the government demonetised currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denominations on November 8, says Shakuntala, her family is now on the brink of starvation. – Chote Lal (55) from Thakur village never used digital wallets in...

-The Hindu On the tenth anniversary of the historic passage of the Forest Rights Act, tribal resistance to defend their rights is growing even as government after government tries to dilute its provisions On this day 10 years ago the historic Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act was passed in the Lok Sabha. Its conception and passage was the result of the decades of struggles and...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre has decided to write to all state governments asking them to launch a crackdown on outdoor advertisements of traditional medicines that claim to "magically" cure various illnesses and cosmetic problems. Sources in the Union information and broadcasting ministry said the letters will be sent out following a nudge from the Union ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy. The Ayush ministry, a few months...