-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The Centre, in an unprecedented move, has asked the Telangana government to return Rs 190 crore which was given to the state in 2016-17 for building rural houses for the poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). This comes after the K Chandrashekar Rao-ruled state has refused to update the Centre of its progress on implementing the scheme. A target of building 70,674 houses was allotted...

-The Hindu The draft report of the Murli Manohar Joshi-led Estimates Committee on “measuring growth, employment and income” asks the government on how it can address the critical issue of unemployment if it does not have “real time” and “holistic” data. A report by a parliamentary panel headed by BJP MP Murli Manohar Joshi, questioning the reliability of employment data collected by the government, has been stalled following protests by other BJP...

-Press Release by Oxfam India dated 9 October 2018   Nigeria, Singapore, India and Argentina are among a group of governments that are fueling inequality, according to a newly released edition of the Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index developed by Oxfam and Development Finance International. The Index ranks 157 countries on their policies on social spending, tax, and labor rights - three areas the organizations say are critical to reducing inequality. It...

-Livemint.com The production of ‘mahua’ is finally entering the formal economy as new initiatives seek to upscale this indigenous drink, selling it across the country and even the globe It is a cloudy morning in Nangur village in Bastar district, Chattisgarh. It is a settlement of a little over 400 families, considered fairly large in these parts. We make a bumpy journey down a narrow, unpaved road intermittently shaded by sargi (sal)...

-The Hindu Sanitary napkins made by adivasi women of the State are in great demand. Hyderabad: In Telangana’s tribal belt, since February this year, adivasi women have been running four small units that produce sanitary napkins for free distribution to students in the tribal welfare hostels and ashram schools. Now, the region is set to get four more sanitary napkin production units, thanks to the demand for pads among young women in...