-The Hindu Business Line Raw silk duty cut triggers sharp fall Bengaluru: Unable to deal with mounting debts amidst diminishing returns from his three-acre farm, Siddaramu, a sericulture farmer in his mid-fifties at Abburdoddi near Channapatna, committed suicide recently in his silkworm rearing house. The trigger for this unfortunate incident was the crash in silk cocoon prices and the issuance of recovery notice by the bank, says Chandramma, his wife. Other crops too failed Siddaramu,...

-The Hindu A little used provision in the Constitution may hold the key to protecting the interests of Scheduled Tribes as they fight to hold on to their traditional lands Even 67 years after Independence, the problems of Adivasi communities are about access to basic needs. These include, but are not restricted to, elementary education, community healthcare, sustainable livelihood support, the public distribution system, food security, drinking water and sanitation, debt, and...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre has nudged schools and colleges to appoint student gender monitors who will report any incident of gender bias or sexual harassment on the campus to designated teachers. Although the government has dubbed the measure an "outreach for creating an environment that fosters equal treatment", social activists said a sensitisation programme would have worked better than a system that will only create snitches. According to government guidelines issued...

-The Indian Express Response to the crisis of farmer suicides is narrowly focused. Poor health accounts for most suicides, necessitating improved access to healthcare rather than special packages For over a decade, farmer suicides in India has been a serious public policy concern. More recently, this has led to a shrill media outcry and much politicking. The government response to the crisis of farmer suicide has mostly been simplistic and sometimes aggravating....

-The Indian Express Farmers say CM promised Rs 2,500 per tonne, but factories paying only Rs 700; govt orders probe. Bengaluru: On June 24, Ningegowda, 61, a differently abled sugarcane farmer from Mandya in south Karnataka, turned the standing sugarcane crop in his 18 gunta field (1 acre = 40 guntas) into his funeral pyre. Till then, only one other farmer’s suicide had been reported from the region since April this...