-The Indian Express The latest data compiled by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on recruitment over the last three years through the main agencies show a declining trend in selection and recruitment, from 1,13,524 cumulatively in FY2015 to 1,00,933 in FY2017. New Delhi: In terms of employment prospects, beneficiaries of the 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections in the general category, which was passed in Parliament last week,...

-The Indian Express While a focused jobs guarantee thrust could help mitigate financial distress for tens of thousands of rural families, Maharashtra’s performance on MGNREGA until now this year has been lacklustre on several counts. Mumbai: As drought conditions worsen in across large parts of rural Maharashtra and sowing for rabi crops adversely affected, the state is expected to give a fresh push to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee...

-Mongabay.com * Contamination of groundwater with chemicals like arsenic and fluoride is an important issue in several states of India. Even though government has schemes to address the problem not much has been achieved. * Authorities have been repeatedly told that efforts on war-footing are needed to protect millions of Indians from the contaminated groundwater but the work is yet to acquire the pace needed. * The parliamentary standing committee on rural development...

-News18.com Acclaimed journalist and Founder-Editor of the People’s Archive of Rural India, P Sainath attributes the existential crisis confronting India’s agrarian society to macro-economic policies set in motion 25 years ago. Talking to Anuradha SenGupta, Sainath makes a case for state intervention in agriculture and says the Modi government, with its shifting positions and policies like demonetisation has only aggravated the assault on agrarian livelihoods. Dismissing the buzz about imminent new initiatives...

-The Hindu Business Line FPOs are for the small producer, typically left out by schemes and sops. They need not just inputs but marketing support Agriculture provides livelihoods to millions of small landholders in India. A few government initiatives to support farmers — such as increased MSP, interest subsidies, free electricity, and loan waivers — reach a limited percentage of farmers and, hence, have a limited impact. The Telangana Government’s decision to provide...