The NEWS

Gurdwaras, temples and mosques in Rajasthan have joined the fight against the state’s worst locust attack since 1993. They warn through loudspeakers: “Tiddi aa rahi hai, khet bachao (locusts are approaching, save your fields)”.

The Economist Intelligence Unit put India 10 ranks lower at the 51st place among 167 countries in its Democracy Index. Average global score fell from 5.48 in 2018 to 5.44 (on a 0-10 scale), “the worst since the Democracy Index began in 2006”.

The IMF lowered India’s growth estimate for the current fiscal from 6.1 per cent to 4.8 per cent. It also listed the country’s much-lower-than-expected GDP numbers as the single biggest drag on its global growth forecast for two years.