-The Hindu It will need a caring partnership between the Dongria Kondh, civil society organisations and the government to figure out how to navigate the very difficult terrain the tribals face Till last week, I'd never visited Niyamgiri, scene of the iconic fight between the Dongria Kondh tribal group and Vedanta, a powerful multinational corporation bent on mining in the area. So why have I titled this ‘revisiting Niyamgiri'? Partly because I've...

-Economic and Political Weekly   The runaway growth in states of subsidised solar pumps, which provide quality energy at near-zero marginal cost, can pose a bigger threat of groundwater over-exploitation than free power has done so far. The best way to meet this threat is by paying farmers to "grow" solar power as a remunerative cash crop. Doing so can reduce pressure on aquifers, cut the subsidy burden on electricity companies, reduce...

-The Hindu   The figure for households without toilets is 47 per cent for Hindu households as against 31 per cent for Muslims and 16 per cent for Christians and Sikhs, according to NSS data. Extensive new evidence shows that building toilets alone will not eliminate open defecation in India as not everyone who has access to toilet, especially men, believe that it's important to use it. Not having a toilet remains the major...

-PTI New Delhi: With sowing of kharif crops almost completed, the total area planted to all summer crops including rice and pulses remains lower at 96.62 million hectare from the year-ago due to poor monsoon. While sowing of pulses, oilseeds, coarse cereals, cotton, sugarcane and jute has completed, the planting of rice would end by next month. As per data released by the Agriculture Ministry, the total area under all kharif crops stands...

-Live Mint The slow monsoon may hurt crop yields and cut farmers' returns, especially in states such as Maharasthra and Gujarat Lasalgaon, Maharashtra: Pramod Patil's 40-acre field in Lasalgaon usually turns green around now with germinated soybean and corn seeds, but this year he has yet to begin planting because of scanty monsoon rains in Maharashtra. Like 27-year old Patil, millions of Indian farmers are hoping rains will strengthen in the next...