-Newsclick.in With the union government now giving a huge push to the use of solar pumps for extracting groundwater for irrigation, the problem of depletion gets further compounded. Buldhana (Maharashtra): As a large part of India reels under floods this monsoon, there might seem little reason to dwell on groundwater depletion. Yet, government policy might be putting the already over-used groundwater at greater risk. In 2012, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural...
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NRC and the work permit formula -Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty
-Livemint.com * An exclusive excerpt from a forthcoming book on the Assam Accord takes a critical look at the NRC crisis * The passage analyses the pros and cons of the debate over a work-permit formula to deal with the situation. One of the foremost thinkers to academically elaborate on the formula (of work permits in Assam) was author–journalist–rights activist Sanjoy Hazarika in Rites of Passage: Border Crossings, Imagined Homelands, India’s East and...
More »Central RTI Law to Now Apply to J&K and Ladakh -Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar
-TheWire.in Jammu and Kashmir has till now been covered by the J&K RTI Act – a more powerful law than the central one in some respects. New Delhi: Following the revoking of Article 370 and ending of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, the central Right to Information Act, 2005 would now apply to the two new union territories of J&K and Ladakh that will be carved out. Jammu and Kashmir has till now...
More »The Indian economy is blaring warnings, but the Modi government remains in denial -Jayati Ghosh
-Scroll.in/ qz.com While the government was busy celebrating cosmetic measures like ‘ease of doing business’ ranking, the real economy tanked. Suddenly, it seems like everything is shrinking in India: our capacity for tolerance and diversity, the space for democratic expression and dissent – and now, economic growth. The warning signs have reached a point where they cannot be ignored any longer and more people, including prominent business leaders, are speaking out. Yet, at...
More »Zero Budget Natural Farming: Another Case of 'Raw Wisdom' Over Science? -Kabir Agarwal
-TheWire.in The Centre says the method will improve crop productivity and reduce input costs, but it remains unclear which scientific studies – if any – these conclusions are derived from. New Delhi: During her budget speech in July, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman responded to widespread farmers’ distress by saying that they would be encouraged to adopt a ‘zero budget’ technique that would take India’s agriculture sector ‘back to basics’. Zero-budget natural farming...
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