-Hindustan Times None of the states had 100% access to toilets. Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar was in a spot on Tuesday when he claimed that rural areas in five states had become Open Defecation Free (ODF). But the findings of Swachh Survekshan, commissioned by the Union Drinking Water and Sanitation ministry, that he released, belied his claims. The survey conducted by the Quality Council of India (QCI) with 1.4 lakh households in 4626...
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Rural Distress: A farmer- and banker-friendly alternative to agricultural loan waivers -Sher Singh Sangwan
-The Indian Express The failure of populist rural credit schemes stems primarily from poor understanding of farm indebtedness in the first place. From the 1970s, a lot of private investment in tube-well irrigation, farm mechanisation and allied agricultural activities took place with bank credit support. After the establishment of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in 1982, institutional credit flows not only accelerated, but also exhibited diversification to fund livestock...
More »Crop diversification: When farmers' incentives clash with policymakers goals -Anju Agnihotri Chaba
-The Indian Express The Punjab government has sought to bring 5 lh area in the state under maize, as part of the original plan of reducing paddy area by 12 lh between 2012-13 and 2017-18. Jalandhar: For policymakers wanting to wean away Punjab farmers from water-guzzling paddy, 1.35 lakh hectares (lh) area sown under maize this kharif season may not seem bad, even if it is way below the 29.11 lh...
More »Supreme Court to states: Implement Food SECurity Act -J Venkatesan
-The Asian Age The AG assured the court that the law would be implemented across the country. New Delhi: Even as the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre, all states and Union Territories to implement provisions of the Food SECurity Act, attorney general K.K. Venugopal cautioned the court about issuing directions by expanding the scope of the petition relating to drought relief. A bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and N.V. Ramana...
More »Reverse swing: 900 students choose this Delhi govt school over private ones -Heena Kausar
-Hindustan Times The government Sarvodaya co-ed senior SECondary school in Rohini SECtor 21, which was opened on April 1, boasts of a swanky building with 69 rooms, including yoga room, music room, mathematics laboratory, and science laboratory. Dressed in a blue shirt, navy blue pants and a matching tie, Class 11 student Harsh Rawat feels no different studying at a government school than what he used to at a nearby private school...
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