-The Hindu They can be an effective tool for rainwater harvesting With an increased variability of monsoons and rapidly depleting groundwater tables, large parts of India are reeling under water stress. A number of peninsular regions like Bundelkhand, Vidarbha and Marathwada have been facing recurring drought-like situations. Given the enormity of the crisis, at a recent NITI Aayog meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi explicated the need to implement innovative water management measures,...

  A recent press release by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) shows that the declared minimum support price (MSP) for most kharif crops to be marketed in 2019-20 is at least 50 percent above the cost of production. The official information related to the newly declared MSP, which came two days ahead of the Union Budget presentation, gives the impression that the newly re-elected NDA government has kept its promise...

-The Indian Express Census 2011 counted 14.2 crore migrants in the decade preceding it, intra-district to inter-state. Women moved for marriage, men for work, economic reforms drove the change, and Surat emerged as No. 3 destination while Chennai fell far behind. In a country with a long and often violent history of sons-of-the-soil politics, migration is a politically fraught issue. From the attacks on south Indians in Mumbai in the 1960s...

-The Times of India JAIPUR: The desert state has recorded an inward migration of 26 lakh against an outward migration of 39 lakh, as per the Census 2011 report on population classified by place of birth and sex, disclosed last week. The deficit of 13 lakh puts Rajasthan in the league of states which are less developed or least attractive for migrants. The figures highlighted that two-third of the inward migration...

-The Telegraph The BJP has been cornering the lion’s share of all money going to political parties New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday called for a debate on state funding of elections, underscoring the urgency by drawing attention to how one party has had access to 90 per cent of the money going to political parties. Singh flagged the issue while addressing a meeting to mark the birth centenary year...