-The News Minute Rice Diversity Blocks in Kerala and five other states preserve over 1,000 indigenous varieties of rice that were at risk of being lost. In the Indian subcontinent, the birthplace of paddy, the colours of the crop’s many varieties are as diverse as the land, its people, languages, cultures, costumes, dialects and so on. But most of that variety was lost, when farmers were asked to forgo indigenous varieties...

-The Hindu Shaktikanta Das says Rs. 12.44 lakh crore in invalid notes may not have come back to banks The Finance Ministry on Thursday said the Rs. 12.44 lakh crore figure reported by the Reserve Bank of India as the amount having been deposited in banks since the November 8 demonetisation announcement could be inflated due to double-counting. Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said the RBI had infused THRee times the...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Union home ministry today barred a non-government organisation run by a Narendra Modi-critic from receiving foreign funds, revoking its FCRA licence and that of THRee others for alleged "undesirable activities against public interest". The action, which drew accusations that the government was trying to stifle voices of dissent, means Anhad, run by Shabnam Hashmi, the Marwar Muslim Educational and Welfare Society, and the Gujarat-based Navsarjan Trust and...

-The Indian Express The tagline for the scheme, named Annapurna Rasoi Yojana, is: “Sabke liye bhojan, sabke liye sammaan (Food for all, respect for all)”. Jaipur: Taking a leaf out of former Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa’s book, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Thursday launched a subsidised meal scheme in the state. The tagline for the scheme, named Annapurna Rasoi Yojana, is: “Sabke liye bhojan, sabke liye sammaan (Food for all, respect for...

-Oxfam India Blog Hari Bandhu Kanhar (45 years) is a Gond tribal of Jhankarmunda village, district Bolangir, Odisha whose family recently received legal title over his forest land under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. On being asked about the difference of being landless and having a land title, he shared that the biggest difference is that he is not hounded by the fear of being evicted from his land. Narratives such as...