-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,...

-Livemint.com While there has been progress in providing electricity to rural households, there have been no real efforts to improve the Quality of power supply Delivering electricity to nearly every village in India has been one of the most celebrated achievements of the Narendra Modi government. However, a study by Sreekumar Nhalur and others published in the latest Economic and Political Weekly suggests it may be too soon to celebrate. The authors argue...

-The Hindu Business Line The manner in which alternating wet and dry spells trigger disease and morbidity needs to be better understood Monsoon fury was in full display this year with record floods over Kerala as well as widespread floods from Gujarat to the North-East. The season also produced a wide swathe of drought that covered much of peninsular India with a smattering of districts from Gujarat to the eastern regions and...

-The Hindu The Indian education system would be a good place to start with reforms, says the development economist Jean Drèze is possibly the world’s most famous Belgian-Indian. He has lived in India since 1979, and is an Indian citizen. As a development economist and activist, he has helped draft some startlingly pro-people legislations, such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, and the National Food Security Act, 2013....

-The Indian Express One-fourth of the urban population lives in these small towns (20,000 to 1,00,000 population). These 7 crore people need amenities to match up to their ‘urban’ status. Many of these towns may not be in the vicinity of big cities. Small towns in India are something of an oxymoron. They are far removed from cities in character and appearance and are constantly struggling to establish their “urbanness”. A...