-The Business Standard Consumers say they cannot buy branded FMCG items in mobile phones, customers opt for low-end handsets while retaining brand loyalty Last year, Ashok Das, a farmer-cum-fisherman from the small industrial town of Rishra in the Hooghly district of West Bengal, had promised his younger son a branded television. But last year’s bad crop output and this season’s deficient monsoon made him change his plans and finally settle on a...

-The Times of India The present food Bill legalises the injustices of a targeted distribution system A national campaign throughout the month of July on issues related to food security and against rising prices will culminate in a five-day sit-in protest in Delhi beginning today. These are issues fundamental to the well-being of the majority of our people and therefore deserve national support.   With the spectre of drought haunting the countryside, speculators, hoarders...

-Inclusion.in There is good news. And there’s bad news. The good news first. There’s been a bumper wheat crop and the granaries are overflowing. And the bad news? Where do we begin? A lot of that grain will rot. Millions will still remain hungry. Heavily in debt and distressed, farmers are committing suicide. Food prices are soaring. There’s more… Farmers don’t have money. Their land is too small and isn’t yielding much. Fertilisers and...

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India , Jun 28 2012 (IPS) - Nurses in India are up in arms against the deterioration of the nursing profession in the country, including unfair wages and the policies of private hospital managements. Many exploited female nurses are leaving the country in droves, migrating to countries that offer better employment prospects and working conditions. Those that remain are taking to the streets, demanding decent pay and the enforcement of labour...

While the country has made progress in reducing poverty, it has lagged behind in improving sanitation India has made headway in reducing poverty and giving access to drinking water for much of its population, but has lagged behind in improving sanitation, food security, maternal mortality and gender equity standards, putting it at risk of missing key targets, said the Millennium Development Goals Report 2012 released on Monday. According to the report, which...