-VillageSquare.in Women trained as poshan sakhis, or nutrition friends, advice and help rural women, particularly expectant and lactating mothers, to eat nutritious food and overcome anemia and underweight deliveries Koraput (Odisha): Swapnarani (21), an expectant mother, finishes her household work fast to attend the monthly maitri baithak at her village Bhutanagar in Badakeranga panchayat of Odisha’s Koraput district. Maitri baithak, or friendship meeting, provides space for women to discuss issues that concern...

-Frontline.inJean Dreze is a well-known Indian economist working in the field of "development economics". Born in Belgium, he studied mathematical economics at the University of Essex and completed his PhD from the Indian Statistical Institute (New Delhi) in 1982.He has taught at the London School of Economics and the Delhi School of Economics and is currently visiting professor at Ranchi University as well as honorary professor at the Delhi School...

-The Hindu Chief secretaries, registrars general of High Courts will be liable for non-compliance. New Delhi: The Supreme Court has upped the ante on the States, Union Territories and High Courts which have not provided it with details of criminal cases pending against sitting lawmakers, warning that their Chief Secretaries and Registrars General will be made personally liable for non-compliance. The Centre informed the court that so far a dozen such courts had...

-The Hindu Consortium representing them says refusal to display PM’s picture is inviting threat of blocked supplies Mumbai: Dealers operating petrol pumps have received a verbal advisory from state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) to put up pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at their retail outlets, triggering a protest. Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) have asked the dealers to arrange the display ahead...

A recent report by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) enlightens one about the state of farmers' income and indebtedness in 2015-16. Entitled NABARD All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey 2016-17 – in short NAFIS 2016-17 – the report says that between 2012-13 and 2015-16 the average monthly income for agricultural households grew by around 39 percent. One may recall that the Key Indicators of Situation Assessment Survey...