-The Telegraph New Delhi: The demand for work under the rural job scheme has risen this financial year, with economists and social activists attributing it to the economic slowdown and the spectre of a drought in south India. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme has already generated 119 crore persondays in the first five months of the financial year, data on the rural development ministry's website show. This is 55...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Seeking to protect farmers from price volatility by ensuring guaranteed price for their produce, the Centre will come out with a draft model law on contract farming this month. Once it is made public, stakeholders including farmers will be given 30 days to comment and give suggestions. A final 'model' contract farming Act is expected to be released in November after incorporating the suggestions. "The final model...

-The Hindu The case pertains to clearance given for diversion of forest land at Saranda Forest in Jharkhand’s Singhbhum District to a mining company in violation of Forest (Conservation) Act in 2012. The Central Bureau of Investigation on September 9 conducted searches at the Chennai premises of former Union Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan in connection with alleged irregularities in the approval to a proposal for leasing of 56 hectare forest land to...

-The Hindu Business Line The possible gain arising out of tax compliance has come at too high a human cost ‘There are THRee kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.’ – Benjamin Disraeli After the RBI’s latest revelations — of 99 per cent of the extinguished currency having returned to the banks — media pundits and economists have wasted no time in saying that efforts to obliterate black money have failed. However,...

-The Times of India IMPHAL: It is hard to believe that the state, mostly in the news for reports of armed conflicts, has been achieving the country's lowest infant mortality rate (IMR) consecutively for the last THRee years — standing tall amidst other conventionally well-equipped states. According to the health ministry report, Manipur's IMR stands at nine deaths per 1000 live births. The national IMR, according to the latest available data,...