-TheWire.in Organised by the All India Kisan Sabha, the farmers' and workers' demands range from an upward revision of minimum wages to remunerative prices for peasants. New Delhi: On August 29, Vijoo Krishnan, joint secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), was nervous. He reached the Ramlila Maidan in the evening and found it almost entirely submerged under water due to consistent rainfall and poor drainage mechanisms. “I thought to myself,...

-Livemint.com Ecologist Madhav Gadgil, whose report on Western Ghats was rejected by the Kerala government, on what caused the Kerala floods and how the rebuilding process should be carried out Ernakulam (Kerala): Submitted seven years ago on 31 August 2011, ecologist Madhav Gadgil’s report on the biodiverse Western Ghats—a portion of which falls in Kerala—had warned that the combination of massive ecological destruction and extreme weather events trigger disaster. His words proved...

-Newsclick.in It is bizarre that the recent GDP numbers are being celebrated even as there are no jobs, workers wages are frozen and farmers are demanding better prices. There is much celebration in government circles and, of course, in the mainstream media, that in the first quarter of 2018-19 (April to June 2018), the GDP growth rate picked up to touch 8.2% compared with the same quarter last year (April to June...

-Press Release by Shiv Nadar University New Delhi, 27th August, 2018: Shiv Nadar University (a comprehensive, multidisciplinary and research-focused institution) today hosted a National Water Conference at India International Centre to discuss issues related to the water crisis in India and identify the potential solutions to address the problem.  The implementation of a new policy paradigm with regards to the principles, approaches and strategies for managing water in India was one...

-Livemint.com Rural development secretary Amarjeet Sinha on how MGNREGS has evolved since 2006 to result in income, acreage, water tables, productivity and fodder availability Agrarian distress and rural distress are terms used interchangeably, but the rural economy today is very different from what it was many years ago, given the diversification of rural incomes and hence incorrect to think one means the other, says Amarjeet Sinha, secretary, ministry of rural development. In...