In 2019, many large tech firms announced plans to offer financial products and services. WSJ’s Liz Hoffman explains why Google, Apple, and others are offering products that might someday replace your wallet.

Water is a big local concern, but at the national level, it does not seem to figure very high up in the considerations of major parties, at least as seen in their pre-election promises. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

M Karunanidhi, who is keen on ensuring that all his children are well settled before he passes into the ages, needs to learn from President Kalam's example.

By fixing a minimum tenure for secretaries in key ministries, Singh can ensure continuity of policy.

As the Kerala government takes steps to re-inspire citizens to engage in grassroots level governance, P Mohammad Nizar draws attention to certain critical issues that must be addressed for the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the state to be effectively revitalised.

A new scheme launched by PM Narendra Modi envisages development through a model in which every MP chooses a village to develop, with people’s participation. Vikas Jha looks at the numbers and realities to explore the real needs of rural development at the panchayat level.

Media reports following the two-day Accountants’ General conference have focused largely on the observations and advice on CAG audits by the Finance Minister and the PAC chairman. Himanshu Upadhyaya wonders if such a meet cannot be evolved into a more citizen-focused and constructive exercise.

World Bank funding of development projects in Andhra Pradesh is criticized by rights activists in the state who argue that conditions for the poor are worsening.

The Kerala government gives the entertainment industry a huge tax break, by reducing dues from the operations of amusement parks. With no political party interested in opposing the drain on the treasury, taxpayers will be left to foot the bill for this largesse, note M Suchitra and P N Venugopal.

With the paradigm of projecting profits as the sole end of business steadily on the wane, Darryl D'Monte reports on developments in the Indian financial sector that indicate a growing thrust on sustainability and social responsibility.

With the PM not entirely rejecting British claims to good governance, this Independence Day week is a proper time to review the legacy of the Raj. One finds that colonial governance was certainly good for the British, while tens of millions of Indians died of wilful and callous neglect, writes P Sainath.

Families left behind by farmers who committed suicide face up to the odds, fighting for survival so that the next generation might do better. As one farm widow puts it, "it is all for the children, sir. Our time has gone". P Sainath reports.

Are death penalties in India being awarded under the most rigorous standards for trials in capital cases? Maybe not. Bikram Jeet Batra on India's current practice.

The draft bill comes at a time when there are differing opinions on the cost efficacy of the MFO model for reaching credit to the poor. Moreover, the bill itself contains some perplexing ideas - such as the choice of NABARD, itself an MFO, as a regulator of others such organisations. Kaushiki Sanyal presents a legislative brief.

Narendra Jadhav is Principal Adviser and Chief Economist at the Reserve Bank of India. He is also a Dalit and strong advocate of reservations in the private sector. His recent book Untouchables : My Family's Triumphant Journey Out of the Caste System in Modern India has received wide acclaim. India Together's Subramaniam Vincent talked with him recently.

UR Ananthamurthy's brutally honest stance on Brahmanism, or in fact on any of the subjects that concerned him, has been fiercely debated in his life and death. In a tribute to the recently deceased stalwart of public thinking, Prakash Belawadi seeks to find clues to his inquiring spirit.

22 years after the incident, a group of unrelenting young activists file a PIL to re-investigate the atrocities unleashed on the women of the two villages in Northern Kashmir, opening a new can of worms. Freny Maneksha reports.

The risk to the unborn child from an HIV-infected mother is significant, but with advances in science and medical care, more women are hopeful about choosing to keep the child. Puja Awasthi reports.

The Government of Karnataka's Working Group on Decentralization discusses transparency and accountability for rural self-governance in the state. The first in a series of articles adapted from the Working Group's 2002 report.

India Together interviews Srikanth Nadhamuni of Bangalore's eGovernments Foundation.

For the last one year, Parameshwara Hegde Tumbemane hasn’t taken his banana crop to the market. He has instead used it to make sukeli, a delicious dried version and that is getting popular in the Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka. Shrikrishna D has more.

Bangalore, once the poster-boy of new age India and its development, is now crumbling, having been sorely let down by the administration and politics of the state. As Karnataka heads for polls, Subramaniam Vincent, discusses the prospects and necessary preconditions for change with independent MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

e-Governance initiatives are paying off in states considered as difficult as Bihar, bringing to commoners easier access to public services. Some have been empowered by it to stop their exploitation. Ramesh Menon reports.

Ranangan- Teaser

A few days ago, a pregnant dog was beaten to death by two women in the Samantrarapur area.

Seema Nanda, 48, became the first Indian-American to be appointed as the CEO of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in June, 2018. She, however, did not give reasons for leaving the top position in the party. The Washington Post reported that Nanda's sudden exit from the DNC was part of the effort of the former US Vice President Joe Biden who is the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.

Equities close lower as Coronavirus cases rise, financial and metal stocks drag

Govt summons Nandan Nilekani over persisting GSTN glitches

Salman Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez talk about shooting for new song 'Tere Bina' at actor's farmhouse during lockdown

During the Covid-19 lockdown, Shanti, who was eight-month pregnant when she started her journey on foot along with her husband and two minor daughters from Rajpura in Patiala for Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, was stopped by the Yamunanagar administration and quarantined at a shelter home in Chhachhrauli. While in quarantine, she gave birth to a baby at civil hospital, Chhachhrauli. On Friday, Shanti, her baby, and husband were facilitated by the district administration with their travel back to their native state in a cab.

Even as the viral Instagram account 'Boys Locker Room' brought back discourse about "glorification of rape culture" in India, many on the internet felt that what was happening to Zargar was yet another example of rape culture and normalisation of violence against women.

Since Zargar's arrest, social media trolls have been slandering and character assassinating the Jamia student due to her pregnancy.

31-year-old Emma Hindmarsh, who works as a mental health nurse, was pregnant. However, she didn’t realize it until she gave birth to a new baby.

Indian markets opened on positive note taking positive cues from its Asian peers and ahead of U S Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates amid ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

MFIs have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many finding it difficult to meet the operating costs and pay salaries during the ongoing lockdown.

The final report of the task force on NIP for 2019-2025 suggested steps like deepening bond markets, setting up of development financial institutions and land monetisation to meet the funding needs,

All major financial markets in India will remain closed on Friday on account of Maharashtra Day.

In his opening remarks, the governor appreciated the efforts of banks in ensuring normal to near normal operations during the lockdown period.

An American financial organisation has agreed to sanction USD 15 million loan to an Indian education start-up to expand the access to quality education by providing critical financing to schools that serve low-income students in India.

Slumping over 810 points from the day's high, the 30-share BSE index settled 261.84 points or 0.83 per cent lower at 31,453.51.

After swinging over 800 points during the day, the 30-share index closed 232.24 points or 0.74 per cent higher at 31,685.75.

Participating in the same meeting, Union Minister for MSME and Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari also said "a package is going to be declared".

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget for 2020-21 had pegged gross borrowing in the new financial year at Rs 7.8 lakh crore, higher than Rs 7.1 lakh crore estimated for 2019-20.

India will be represented by Viswanathan Anand, Vidit Gujrathi, P. Hari Krishna and Koneru Humpy at the online Nations Cup.

Money though the Player Relief Programme, run by ATP, WTA, Grand Slam organisers and ITF, will be divided equally among men and women.