Five must-read stories—January 23

Anger towards BJP among Uttar Pradesh merchants hit by demonetisation

In Saharanpur’s busy shopping district, the necessities of everyday life—warm clothes, shoes, blankets, quilts, and aromatic spices—are being snapped up. In the Sarafa Bazaar, the street of jewellers, there is a hushed silence. There are virtually no customers in this part of western Uttar Pradesh and, as the shopkeepers inform us, it’s been like this since November 8, when ₹500 and ₹1,000 currency notes were rendered worthless, says The Hindu.

Trump’s ‘Buy American and Hire American’ may hit stock markets, weaken rupee

US President Donald Trump's 'Buy American and Hire American' slogan may rock the markets and weaken the rupee as his relentlessly protectionist rhetoric shows no signs of being muted by ascent to office. The rupee could plumb new lows of 70 against the dollar in the next few months, reports The Economic Times.

Demonetisation woes: Textiles sector, which employs 25 million, totters

India's textile supply chain, which employs about 25 million people, is reeling from cancelled orders, plummeting demand and job losses after demonetisation, according to an IndiaSpend report.

How CIA tried to gather intel before 1971 India-Pakistan war

A trove of 9,30,000 declassified documents, running into more than 12 million pages, recently posted online by the CIA provides fascinating insights into the way the US spy service covered India. This includes how the CIA tried to gather intel before the 1971 India-Pakistan war, reports The Hindustan Times.

Lack of infrastructure crippling lower judiciary, says report

Underlining the severe shortage of judges in the lower judiciary, a Supreme Court report claimed there were 16 judges to address the needs of every million, whereas there were 42 police officers of the rank of inspector or above available for the same population, reports The Times of India.