-Hindustan Times During his town hall address at IIT Delhi, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said: “Those who don’t have access to the internet cannot sign online petitions.” But how can he decide what is best for them? Recent research by Amba Kak at the Oxford Internet Institute found that financially constrained users prefer buying shorter duration Internet PLAns (e.g. three days) with all access, as opposed to WhatsApp-only PLAns that are...
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Rural Distress: Back-to-back drought adds to the woes -Sahil Makkar, Sanjeeb Mukherjee & Nirmalya Behera
-Business Standard The well-irrigated states of Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, western Uttar Pradesh and coastal states such as Odisha are, for the first time, feeling the effects of a poor monsoon Bhopal/ New Delhi/ Bhubaneshwar: Farmers are faced with a multitude of problems. Cotton and basmati rice growers in Punjab and sugarcane farmers in west UP are under stress due to the non-payment of insurance and state compensation. Growers in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh,...
More »Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog speaks to Richa Mishra and Surabhi
-The Hindu Business Line The decline in share of cooperatives in total farm credit is a cause for concern and needs to be corrected, says Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog . An agriculture expert and a full-time member of the Aayog, Chand believes that financial inclusion in the sector has three dimensions – geographical distribution of farm credit, more long-term credit, and larger role of cooperatives. In an interaction with BusinessLine, Chand...
More »Party funding: Delhi HC asks govt about system in PLAce to enforce FCRA
-The Indian Express The PIL, filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms, has sought creation of an independent body to implement the law. The Delhi High Court Tuesday asked the government what system was currently in PLAce to enforce the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) while hearing a PIL that alleged that political parties were violating FCRA norms and getting funds from abroad. The PIL, filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms,...
More »Paddy fields dry up, farmers leave home to find work -Mazhar Ali
-The Times of India Chandrapur: The paddy fields around Bormala, a village with population of over 1,500 in a far corner of Saoli tehsil, lay barren as none of the farmers has dared to take the crop this year due to lack of rain. Having only what is left of last year's yield to eat and no work in their fields, most of the men and women go to neighbouring Gadchiroli...
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