In April, India’s Planning Commission accepted recommendations put forth by the so-called Tendulkar Committee on a new poverty headcount for the country. Constituted by the Planning Commission under economist Suresh D Tendulkar, the committee, after four years and a new methodology, arrived at a new figure for the number of Indians living below the poverty line: 37.2 percent, ten points higher than the previous official figure. With the government’s subsequent...

The Orissa government today confirmed that at least 45 companies had been allowed to draw water from rivers, seeking to balance the demand for industry and that of farmers who fear their source of irrigation might dry up. The state government has so far signed memoranda of understanding with 86 companies, of which 45 have been given the right to draw water. Many of the companies deal in power generation, for...

The State Government has set the target to make Sikkim the first-ever Poverty Free State of the country within the next four years. A comprehensive programme, involving all the Government departments will be undertaken for the purpose with special thrust on the poverty-stricken villages. This was announced by the Chief Minister Pawan Chamling in the Assembly yesterday. He was replying to the general discussion on the Budget in the House. Chamling...

The "dreaded" Maoist captured by joint forces on Wednesday the only one apparently caught alive at the encounter site where eight rebels lay dead is a 20-year-old mute and mentally challenged youth from Duli village. No wonder, police haven't been able to make him speak. In what may cast a shadow on the way the police are rounding up suspects, Rameshwar Murmu has been branded a hardcore Maoist and slapped...

Indian agriculture was mostly organic before the advent of the Green Revolution. However, the widespread adoption of nutrient-responsive and high-yielding varieties greatly promoted the use of inorganic fertilisers, weedicides and insecticides. The compulsion to grow more for food security has led farmers to overlook food quality norms and an indiscriminate use of natural resources. Based on three principal factors viz., mixed cropping, crop rotation and use of organic fertilizers, the National...