Punjab’s agricultural sector grew at 1.6 per cent during the 11th Plan against the national average of 3.41 per cent. The growth is tardy owing to near saturation in productivity. The rural debts in Punjab are estimated to be Rs 35,000 crore. The number of indebted rural households in Punjab is 66 per cent, third highest in the country after Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The Government of India’s debt...

Weak performance of monsoon this year has led the government to anticipate a significant increase in demand for work under its flagship ruralemployment guarantee scheme. The rural development ministry has asked all states to prepare contingency plans and review their estimates of work demand under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The move is an indication that the Centre is not very certain of monsoon catching up in the...

-PTI The Haryana Government has formulated a rural water policy for the state for the year 2012 in order to save precious drinking water by preventing wastage due to unmetered connections and open taps. A spokesman of the Public Health Engineering Department said that this policy has been formulated keeping in view the present scenario of wastage of water through unmetered connections provided to consumers in rural areas, which are being billed...

-The United Nations World leaders, along with thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other groups will come together from 20-22 June in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to take part in the UN Sustainable Development Conference (Rio+20). In our Seven Issues, Seven Experts series UN officials tell us more about the key issues that will be discussed during the conference and how we can contribute to make...

-The Times of India   If you don't act now, Delhi will be starved of electricity and water in the coming years - this was the dire warning given by a group of village women, who have come to Delhi from remote areas of Uttarakhand. Their mission is to shake up the government and get it to restart work on several hydel projects in the state. There is indeed a connection with the...