-Deccan Herald In the past seven years around 3.2 crore farmers have abandoned farming and taken up menial jobs in the cities. At a time when change is the buzzword on the political landscape, when cities are changing, and the villages are no longer what they used to be; when incomes are rising for an educated few, and when the bottom of the pyramid - those below the poverty line -- are...

-Outlook After a row over implementation of a expert committee report, the Centre has ruled out appointment of any more panel to study Western Ghats in an attempt to address concerns of the six states through which the ecologically-sensitive hills traverse. Environment Minister M Veerappa Moily said the states concerned should appoint committees respectively to assess the kind of activities that could be allowed in the tract. After the committees submit their...

-Outlook Bhubaneswar: Optimistic about progress of Posco's Rs 52,000 crore steel project, Odisha government today said it would sign a fresh tripartite agreement with the South Korean steel major as the validity of the original MoU lapsed three years ago. "The state government will sign a fresh agreement with Posco and Posco-India for setting up the proposed mega steel mill near Paradip," Steel and Mines minister R K Singh said while describing...

-Frontline A report by ActionAid and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences highlights the vulnerability and tragic living conditions of thousands of children who take shelter in Mumbai's streets. IN 1988, the acclaimed film-maker Mira Nair made Salaam Bombay!, a poignantly revealing film on street children in Mumbai. The plot revolves around the protagonist, Krishna or "Chaipau", who is kicked out of his home by his mother for having damaged his...

-The Hindu Chennai: In an indication of poor economic growth taking its toll on the job market, an estimated 12 million people may be forced to look for low-quality, low productivity rural or agriculture jobs over seven years, a reversal of old trend of migration from farm to non-farm employment opportunities, pointed out a report of CRISIL Research. Job generation in the non-farm sector will slow down sharply in the coming...