-The Indian Express One notable thing was the absence of emphasis on doubling farmers’ real incomes by 2022. Perhaps the reality that this is an uphill task has dawned on the government — it may not achieve even half the target. In her first budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reminded us of the famous quote from M K Gandhi, that the “soul of India lives in villages”. She also said...

-The Indian Express It pointed out that fellowships and scholarships for PhD and post-doctoral courses have constantly declined since 2014-15 - from Rs 602 crore to Rs 283 crore in 2019-20 for SC students and from Rs 439 crore to Rs 135 crore for ST students. New Delhi: The funding for secondary and higher education of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) students has received a setback in the Union...

-IANS water woes have been further compounded by the caste woes emerging in the times of water scarcity. In the parched badlands of Uttar Pradesh's Bundelkhand, wells and ponds have dried up, rivers have shrunk miserably. water scarcity is a way of life in this region of Uttar Pradesh - made worse this year by lack of rainfall. water woes have been further compounded by the caste woes emerging in the times of...

-The Hindu Business Line To tackle homelessness, the government should provide better incentives to developers to provide affordable housing Food, clothing and shelter are three basic human needs. Out of the three, shelter remains beyond the reach of 1.77 million people in India, accounting for 0.15 per cent of the nation’s population (Census 2011). Rights groups, however, say that the actual figure is at least three times higher. Consequently, a large number...

-Economic and Political Weekly The dependence of agriculture on natural resources requires sustainable management of these resources for risk mitigation and management, particularly in the context of increasing farmer distress and vulnerability to risks associated with climate change. Using a framework of indicators in the domains of pest management, fertiliser use, soil health, water conservation, biodiversity, and efficient use of inputs, statewise report cards on ecological sustainability of agriculture are provided....