Five must-read stories—January 19

Manmohan Singh seeks to uphold RBI's sanctity

Keeping politics aside, former PM Manmohan Singh raised the bar when he spoke up for the institutional sanctity of the Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday when RBI Governor Urjit Patel was being quizzed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance. A Telegraph report.

‘Air pollution killed 80,665 in Delhi & Mumbai in 2015’

Air pollution contributed to a total of 80,665 premature deaths of adults over 30 years in Mumbai and Delhi in 2015, a two-fold jump from 1995, according to a new study at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. A Times of India report.

Urjit Patel stays mum on how much demonetised currency has been deposited back in banks

Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel on Wednesday did not offer any answer to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance on how much of the demonetised currency had been deposited back in banks. He did say that about ₹9.2 lakh crore had been put back in circulation since the demonetisation on November 8, reports The Hindu.

Smriti Irani wanted her educational information kept secret

Union minister Smriti Irani had asked Delhi University not to disclose information related to her degree, the School of Open Learning (SOL) informed the Central Information Commission (CIC) recently, reports The Times of India.

In farewell presser, Obama sets red lines that would pull him back into the fray

At his final news conference as US President, Barack Obama made clear on Wednesday that he finds some ideas advanced by President-elect Donald J Trump so alarming that he laid out markers that would draw him back into the fray. A New York Times report.