-TheWire.in To oppose the forest department’s plan to limit open grazing, the pastoral community is formally pursuing their collective land rights through the Forest Rights Act. The sun has not yet decided to rise. It’s pitch black out but a group of Maldharis has already assembled for the last session of this year’s milking competition. Their massive buffalos are majestically adorned with intricate garlands and colourful necklaces. The panch (group of five...

-The Hindu Delay in monsoon has compounded the problems of farm labourers from Bahour commune Puducherry: The double whammy of demonetisation and delay in monsoon has crippled the rural population of Puducherry as they struggle to make their ends meet. The demonetisation move has brought the construction activity across the rural areas to a standstill, throwing thousands out of jobs and without money. The construction sites in rural areas of Bahour, Villianur, Mannadipet...

-Frontline.in To rural India, which is already reeling under multiple crises, demonetisation has come as yet another blow. WHEN the Prime Minister made the decision to withdraw Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes, he did not quite factor in the impact it would have on agriculture. Despite the rhetoric the concept of digital wallets has not yet entered rural India unlike in much of the country’s urban areas, and much of rural and...

The term 'development' holds a positive connotation for most policymakers. However, there are examples abound, which indicates that development also cause enormous misery to the people, particularly the poor and the marginalized. Take for instance, the organizing of 2010 Commonwealth Games, due to which massive infrastructural development in the national capital was undertaken when Sheila Dikshit was the Chief Minister of Delhi. It has been estimated that almost 2 lakh...

-The Hindu Report tabled in Parliament says Reliance gained Rs. 5,245 crore from the exemption. The Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) has castigated the Income-Tax Department for extending tax exemption amounting to hundreds of crores to several companies by inappropriately extending benefits available for infrastructure projects. In a report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the CAG said the biggest beneficiary was Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL). “We noticed in eight cases in two States that the...