-Economic and Political Weekly     Sustained and focused efforts have to be made by the Tamil Nadu state government to provide relief and rehabilitation to the drought affected people of the state. S Rajendran (myrajendran@gmail.com) is with the Department of Economics, Periyar University, Salem, Tamil Nadu. Due to the failure of the north-east monsoon in December 2013, Tamil Nadu is witnessing drought like conditions this year, leading to poor agricultural productivity, rural distress,...

-The Hindustan Times   Chhajali (Sangrur): The ongoing parliamentary elections hold little meaning for 80-year-old debt-ridden Jasmail Kaur as they cannot change her fate. Jasmail has been living alone at her small house at Chhajali village of Sunam since her 19-yearold son Jaggi committed suicide 18 years ago. "Jaggi was two when his father Gurjant Singh died of a prolonged illness," says Jasmail with tears in her eyes. "For the past 18 years,...

-The New York Times   As politicians scramble for India's 815 million votes in the most expensive and closely contested general election in the nation's history, an unexpected protest is rumbling from what was once one of the country's most placid voter blocs: its farmers. The protest is inflamed by rising attention to the shocking suicide rate on India's hardscrabble farms. Since 1995, more than 290,000 farmers have killed themselves. Though that figure,...

-Down to Earth Demand income security and sustainability, and redressal of grievances relating to land matters which they say are the biggest source of corruption and mis-governance The apathy of successive governments of Andhra Pradesh towards the deepening agrarian crisis has resulted in farmers groups organising themselves to put pressure on political parties during election time. The Rythu Swarajya Vedika, an umbrella organisation of various farmers' groups and non-profits working in the...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party is inking its agriculture policy to connect with rural voters and expand its support base. Apart from farm production, the policy will focus on ensuring income security for farmers through a series of measures including a farmers' income commission, increasing access to insurance and credit facilities for tenant farmers and improving rural infrastructure. Recent data from the National Crime Records Bureau show...