-NDTV Sikkim, the small north eastern hill state, is the cleanest in India, with Kerala coming in a close second, according to a Swachhta (cleanliness) survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) on the condition of sanitation in rural areas of 26 states. Chhattisgarh and neighbouring Jharkhand placed last in the survey, which was carried out last year. “A survey on Swachhta status was conducted by NSSO during May-June 2015 covering...

-The Hindu Held to account by the Supreme Court, the Central government is using opaque methods to change the key provisions of the employment guarantee scheme and make it targeted instead of universal. There is a pithy saying in Hindi that the elephant has two sets of teeth, one for show and the other to eat. This seems an apt description of the approach of the Narendra Modi government towards the implementation...

-The Indian Express India should learn from China and start with liberalisation of rural land, labour and capital markets before attempting bigger things. Independence Day has come and gone with its usual mix of celebrations, pride and ruminations on how things could be better. Interestingly, several media commentaries tagged the event with the 25th anniversary of economic reforms, launched in 1991 around the same time of the year. They largely dwelt on the theme...

-The Times of India LUCKNOW/ NEW DELHI/ JAIPUR: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his I-Day speech that Nagla Fatela village in Hathras (Mahamayanagar) district of Uttar Pradesh had to wait 70 years to get electricity despite being barely three hours away from the national capital, the state power corporation (UPPCL) and the Union power ministry were battling the veracity of that claim. Senior UPPCL officials on Tuesday insisted...

-DNA Only 17% Rural Households take loans from financial institutions | Caste affiliation, gender play a part in getting credit As many as 31% of Rural Households in India are indebted and a significant number still depend on money-lenders, paying heavy interests, despite various government schemes and a network of rural banking. A parliamentary panel that probed the state of rural, agricultural banking found that a mere 17% rural household had taken...