-News18.com Nearly every section that constitutes the socio-political economy of Sikar district has turned up to lend support to the farmers' protest, be it students, anganwadi workers, the city bus union, the autorickshaw union, the small traders association or the pump set workers. Sikar: Something unusual is happening in Sikar. For the past 10 days, an agitation is being held at the farmer mandi of the district headquarters here. But what is...

-The Economic Times "Demonetisation in a booming economy is like shooting at the tyres of a racing car," says development economist Jean Drèze . A leading advocate of welfare policies, Drèze who was a member of the National Advisory Council during the UPA regime, tells ET that the sudden move to demonetize high-value currency notes has created a scary situation for people who live on the margin of subsistence, and that...

-The Hindu Increased rebel activity made it impossible for anyone to commute outside Jagargunda unless they left permanently, as the original inhabitants and the new entrants were marked as Salwa Judum supporters, and overtly boycotted by the Maoist-controlled villages surrounding the enclave. In Jagargunda, a large village in south Chhattisgarh, the villagers have been waiting for their winter rations for more than two months. Ordinarily, this would not be news but Jagargunda...

-The Telegraph Guwahati: Minority-dominated Dhubri district has recorded the highest population growth rate in Assam while Kokrajhar has recorded the lowest, according to the 2011 census, the final findings of which were released today. Assam ranks 14th in the country in terms of population. While Assam recorded a population growth rate of 17.1 per cent (4,550,048 people) over the past decade (2001-2011), Dhubri and Kokrajhar recorded a growth of 24.44 per cent...

-The Hindu Kota, Rajasthan: The sun is about to set over grey-brown slabs in sandstone quarries in Kota district, Rajasthan. Babulal Khairwa sits at the edge of a quarry and attentively hits a taanki, a chisel shaped like a gigantic nail, placed on the stone with a hammer. Babulal hits the stone with the hammer till it cracks in a straight line. Each 2 by 10 square feet foot slab, or...