-The Hindu The focus must be on waste management and recycling We celebrated ‘World Environment Day’ (June 5) with a critical theme: beat plastic pollution. Since India was the global host of this year’s event, and also one of the victims of plastic pollution, we should view this danger seriously. The theme urges governments, industries, communities and individuals to come together and explore sustainable alternatives. It also urges this target group to...

-TheWire.in Has Switzerland’s eagerness to export its vocational training and education model to India led to an unsatisfactory compromise that ultimately hurts the battle against poverty: granting a private company exclusive rights to the curriculum developed with Swiss taxpayers’ money? This year, India and Switzerland will celebrate 70 years of a Friendship Treaty that was signed by the two countries in 1948. A decade ago, the 60th anniversary of the Treaty was...

-The Indian Express Behind the agitation, stagnant income and deteriorating terms of trade for agriculture New Delhi: Why are Indian farmers an angry lot today — stopping the supply of vegetables to cities and even spilling milk on roads? An answer to this can be found in the estimates of gross domestic product/ national income growth from the Central Statistics Office. The accompanying table shows two sets of growth figures. The first is...

-The Tribune Contract farming is a much-needed vehicle to bring new crops, technologies, and markets to farmers. However, the new model Act 2018 opens up agricultural markets to contracting agencies without adequate safeguards for farmers. The first attempt at reforms in agricultural markets was made by the union government with the design of a model Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act in 2003 which provided for new market channels for farmers and...

-The Economic Times If anyone thinks jail is a leveller of gender discrimination, think again. It can be quite stark, even in jail. The men and women in Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad are treated quite differently as far as work is concerned. In stereotypical fashion, only the men in the jail got to work, while the women had nothing to do and no opportunity to earn. The men in this jail make...