-Hindustan Times The study has analysed the inter-state differences in the quality of life and levels of living across the major states of India. A composite quality of life index has been prepared using 17 indicators, covering various aspects like income and consumption level, quality of housing, health status and educational attainment of the population. Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh is among the least developed states in terms of quality of life, says a...

-The Hindu Farming must be treated as a market-based enterprise and made viable on its own terms The week-long farmers’ march which reached Mumbai earlier this month, on the anniversary of Gandhi’s Dandi March of 1930, was unprecedented in many ways. It was mostly silent and disciplined, mostly leaderless, non-disruptive and non-violent, and well organised. It received the sympathy of middle class city dwellers, food and water from bystanders, free medical services...

-The Indian Express The demand is a call for upholding local practices of belonging On March 12, about 50,000 farmers reached Mumbai, walking 165 km in the hope that their elected representatives would listen when they spoke. A majority of these farmers were Adivasis and one of their demands was the implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and through it, their land rights. The FRA was enacted in 2006 with the...

-The Hindu Business Line WRMS forecasts deficit rains for Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu Thiruvananthapuram: In what is seen as the first official outlook for year 2018 monsoon, private forecaster Weather Risk Management Services (WRMS) has said that the June-September rainfall would be largely on the ‘positive side of normal’ (normal to above normal). The forecast comes in the backdrop of a season that flattered to deceive in the just past year, recording only...

-Down to Earth Most of the over 200 farmers Down To Earth talked to in 6 villages of Hoshangabad and Sehore districts said they would not register for the Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojna for the rabi season When Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana (BBY) in August 2017 to compensate farmers for the losses they would suffer by selling their crops below the minimum support price (MSP)...