-Down to Earth Severe dry spells in Indian forests have hit the livelihood of more than 100 million people. But India simply does not acknowledge this drought For more than five months, residents of Jabarra village have been foraging the forests for minor forest produce (MFP). The forest in Chhattisgarh’s Dhamtari district is abundant with more than 200 types of forest produce and the district is known as Asia’s biggest trading...
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Prashant Bhushan, founder of Swaraj Abhiyan, speaks to Vrinda Gopinath (thewire.in)
-TheWire.in Swaraj Abhiyan founder Prashant Bhushan discusses the Essar tapes and other scams, the role of whistleblowers and his fallout with Arvind Kejriwal. Celebrated lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan has just notched up another victory with the Supreme Court-appointed panel decreeing there was prima facie evidence that former CBI director Ranjit Sinha had attempted to influence the investigation into the coal block allocation scam under the then UPA government. The court’s observation was based...
More »The bitter tales of Shamli’s sugarcane farmers: ‘Netas talk palayan (exodus), our issue bhugtan (payment)’ -Harish Damodaran
-The Indian Express Even though Shamli tops in sugarcane production, there is nearly Rs 300 crore dues for district farmers. Shamli/ Kairana: Mohkam Singh supplied 22 buffalo carts of cane, each laden with 18 quintals, to the sugar mill at Shamli belonging to Sir Shadi Lal Enterprises Ltd in the 2015-16 crushing season. These 400 quintals should have fetched about Rs 1.12 lakh at the Uttar Pradesh government’s state advised price (SAP)...
More »India’s jobless growth is undermining its ability to reap the demographic dividend -Christophe Jaffrelot
-The Indian Express The last quarterly survey by the Labour Bureau showed that India has never created so few jobs, since the survey started in 2009 The last quarterly survey by the Labour Bureau showed that India has never created so few jobs, since the survey started in 2009, as in 2015: Only 1.35 lakh jobs compared to more than nine lakh in 2011 and 4.19 lakh in 2013 in eight labour-intensive...
More »Farmers' conference demands law for guaranteed income -Vineet Kumar
-Down to Earth Participants voice concern on drought, farmers' suicide and water conservation, among other issues The three-day long Kisan Swaraj Sammelan held in Hyderabad (April 1 to 3) urged for the enactment of a Farmers’ Income Guarantee Act to ensure dignified earning levels for agricultural households among a host of other things. Organised by the Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture, a group comprising 400 diverse organisations from across India, the...
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