Non-food credit sector-wise In an indirect admission that India's economy has been badly impacted by demonetisation and mismanagement, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that the growth in non-food credit -- extended by scheduled commercial banks to all other customers except the Food Corporation of India -- "reached a low of 5.8 per cent at end-March 2017, the lowest since 1994-95", even as underlining, the deceleration has continued thereafter.

A new Government of India report has regretted that just about 20% of enterprises that started operations after Narendra Modi took over as India’s Prime Minister in 2014 have used the “single window system”, set up by different states to get all types of clearances, ranging from land and environment, to labour and power, to set-up their business.

  A new Government of India report shows that Gujarat does not figure among the top 10 tourist destinations of India. Led by Maharashtra, other states which are major tourist destinations are Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana (taken as one state) Odisha, Rajasthan, Kerala and Karnataka, in that order.

  Around hundred writers, academics, artistes and professionals have taken strong exception to the Jharkhand government banning young adivasi writer Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar’s collection of short stories, "The Adivasi Will Not Dance", calling the decision "absurd", setting "a dangerous precedent."

  In an usual defence of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Arif Mohammad Khan, the UP politician who quit the Rajiv Cabinet in 1986 over its stance on the Shah Bano case, has said that he does not "believe that Rajiv Gandhi took the decision to overturn the Supreme Court verdict" on the case "on his own."

Even as violence around the CBI court verdict in a 2002 rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim Singh spreads to the National Capital Region of Delhi with several neighbouring states on high alert, facts have to come light about close links of the ruling BJP and the rock star sadhu.

Dr Tushaar Shah (left) with Gujarat official Sujit Gulati A climate change experiment for promoting alternative sources of energy in Anand district, begun about two-and-a-half years ago by a  world-renowned institute , meant for promoting groundwater solar pumps as a means for turning ordinary farmers into electricity producers, appears to have no takers in the Gujarat government.

Calculating urbanization? Annual passenger flow since 2011-12 One of India’s topmost urban experts, Prof Amitabh Kundu, has taken strong exception to the Government of India’s mid-term Economic Survey, released in early August, especially its suggestion that 63% of India could be urban. Prof Kundu believes, this kind of statement would “add confusion” among policy makers and researchers of urbanization.

Protest in a Madhya Pradesh village In a major relief, Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader  Medha Patkar was granted bail by Madhya Pradesh's Indore High Court on Wednesday. She was denied bail by the sessions court in a kidnapping case instituted against her by the state police.

Efforts may have been stepped up across India to boycott Chinese goods against the backdrop of the current standoff with the giant neighbour – with Mumbai’s association of school principals  calling  for a boycott of Chinese goods, and the Swadeshi Jagran Manch  listing out  several reasons for the need for boycott, one of them being China “trying” to impose its hegemony over India.

A new  book  by the grand nephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Sugata Bose, has claimed that when top Bengali litterateur Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay first composed the national song “Vande Mataram”, his reference was to “Bangamata or Mother Bengal”. Even as pointing out that “there is no specific mention of Bangamata or Mother Goddess”, Bose, who is a politician and a scholar, says, the national song’s reference to the “magic number of seven crore refers” essentially “to Bengalis”.

Digvijay Singh outside Dhar jail In a surprise move, senior Congress leader and ex-chief minister Digvijay Singh met Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar in Dhar jail, Madhya Pradesh, describing her as a "great social worker who has dedicated her entire life to fight for the cause of Narmada dam affected people of the state."

  Congress veteran Ahmed Patel may be fuming over the manner in which BJP chief Amit Shah  almost snatched  away his Rajya Sabha seat by ensuring that 14 of the party's 57 MLAs in the Gujarat state assembly "crossed over" against him. However, two of his recent media interviews suggest that, despite his "clout" in the Congress, he has not been able to overcome his long-standing fear in taking up the reins of the party.

Seeking to give a controversial answer to the tangled question being debated especially by India's urban development experts as to how urbanized India is, the Government of India's midterm Economic Survey, released last week, has questioned the Census of India data that just 31.2% of the country is urbanized.

The tractor carrying the National Flag Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani has declined to accept the largest-ever National Flag, prepared by Dalit students and teachers of the Dalit Shakti Kendra (DSK), the Dalit empowerment centre, founded by top rights activist Martin Macwan in 1999 to train girls and boys from marginalized communities in technical skills.

The rally reaches Gandhinagar In an unusual move, the Gujarat government on August 11 agreed for a rally — albeit “silent” — starting at Dalit Shakti Kendra (DSK) in Nani Devti village, not very far from the upcoming industrial hub of Sanand in Ahmedabad district, to about 50 km away, Gandhinagar, the state capital. The decision for allowing the rally was especially surprising, because the state government, of late, has been found to be averse to giving permission for rallies and meetings which may embarrass the powers that be. Martin Macwan talking with Dalit rights activists The order allowing the rally said that there shouldn’t be slogan shouting of “provocative” nature, nor should there should be any slogans which harm the “reputation” of the authorities. Worse, the order not only did not allow the use of loud speaker, it stated that even songs shouldn’t be sung. The official permission for the rally came on August 10 evening, just about 16 hours before the rally was scheduled to s...

  A new  report  “India Land Governance: Country Narrative” has estimated that demands for urbanization in India, infrastructure and rapid expansion of industry would require an additional 10% of the land area (152 million hectares), currently used for agricultural production, though regretting, the process of making available such huge land would remain “complicated”.

Extent of unaccounted compensation in sample districts A new study led by a senior expert of the Azim Premji University, Rajendran Narayanan, has said that in whopping 57% of cases, the Government of India has not been calculating compensation it should be paying for the delay in the payment of wages, as required under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), 2005.

  Patkar surrounded by supporters just ahead of arrest Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar, who was fasting for the 12 days to protest against the “failure” of the Government of India to rehabilitate thousands of Narmada dam oustees, apprehending massive submergence in Madhya Pradesh, has been "arrested".

  Has the decision to appoint economist Dr Rajiv Kumar as successor of NITI Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya, who announced his resignation for the powerful post less than a week ago, something to do with Dr Kumar’s more recent incessant support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that too mostly of political nature?

Arvind Panagariya with Modi Did Niti Ayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya, a renowned economist and a close follower of free market wizard Jagdish Bhagwati,  resign  from his powerful post because he was unhappy with the Narendra Modi government’s “slow” movement towards privatization, his favourite thrust? It would seem so, if what he said two days earlier (July 31) is any indication.