-Maastricht University The Policy Brief entitled 'The Key to Resolving Straw Burning: Farmers' expertise' was produced under the project Responsible Innovation in Biogas in India, which was funded by the Netherlands Organization of Scientific Research (NWO) and executed at Maastricht University. In the brief, the researchers call for the following policy actions: * Establish comprehensive working groups to engage with issues of straw burning, air pollution, agricultural practices and industries. * Notably, expertise on...

-The Hindu Business Line Meet Jaitley for pre-Budget discussion New Delhi: Experts from the agriculture sector have sought measures to offset the impact of inflation on crops and income security for farmers and also debated the farm loan waiver at a pre-Budget meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday. This was the first such meeting and the Finance Minister will meet more sectoral groups this week to get their proposals for the...

-The Hindu Low conviction rates and a lack of a lawful definition of crime mark criminal administration in India Police reform in India has been concerned with political interference ever since the landmark Supreme Court judgement, in 2006, on the subject. The focus should really be on reorganising criminal administration. The annual publication of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), “Crime in India 2016”, which was released recently, presents a dismal picture of...

-The Indian Express Government is prioritising savings over MGNREGA and rights of the poor. Rambeti from Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, graphically described the predicament of MGNREGA workers like her in a recent press conference in Delhi. “The government repeatedly states that it will not let us die of starvation. But the truth is, it does not allow us to live either.” That is a terrible evaluation of MGNREGA — a landmark legislation enacted...

-The Indian Express India’s healthcare debate should go back to the 40-year-old declaration that accords centrality to the local medical worker. India’s healthcare crisis has evoked a policy debate with arguments being made in favour of and against the public and private sector. S.N. Mohanty (‘Fixing healthcare’, IE, November 11) summarises the arguments of both sides very well. He concludes that there is a need to “design the public health system around...