-The Hindu Occupational identities are competing with caste and religious identities in Madhya Pradesh The political mood of the people in Madhya Pradesh is complex. To understand voting behaviour only through the PRIsm of caste is an outdated method in this State. In fact, occupational identities resonate across caste and religion. Employing the categories of farmers, labourers, government employees, small businessmen, the urban service classes, and so on helps us understand voter...

-The Hindu The government’s maternity benefit programme must be implemented better and comply with the Food Security Act Yashoda Devi was five months pregnant with her third child when we met her in Jharkhand in June. She was in extreme pain. The doctor had told her that she was very weak and had advised her to improve her nutritional intake. But Ms. Devi did not have money to follow the doctor’s advice. Not...

-The Times of India AHMEDABAD: For a long time the perils of dumping untreated faecal sludge into our rivers has been ignored in our government policies. Today, this neglect has manifested to become one our gravest public health threats. And now research has found the highest concentration of highly antibiotic resistant E.coli bacteria just besides Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram on the riverfront. It is exactly here that the Chandrabhaga drainage spews out...

-National Herald It has now come to light that new currency notes with higher ‘security’ features introduced after demonetisation are quickly becoming ‘unusable’ within just two years of circulation It does seem like the PM Narendra Modi-led government simply cannot get anything right. It has now come to light that new currency notes with higher ‘security’ features introduced after demonetisation are quickly becoming 'unusable' within just two years of circulation. According to sources,...

-The Hindu Business Line But the economy size gets a bump-up under new base year New Delhi: It’s official now. The government-initiated recalibration of the economy for the years 2004-05 to 2011-12, based on the new base year 2011-12, paints a somewhat less cheerful picture on the GDP growth front for these years. However, the new methodology of changed base year (2011-12) with the latest data sources and improved coverage has bumped up...