-Newsclick.in As landslides plague Garhwal Himalayas, geologist YP Sundriyal says it confirms scientists’ fear that geologically weak areas will destabilise during monsoons. Leading geologist Prof YP Sundriyal Teaches the subject at the Hemavati Bahuguna Garhwal University. In this interview with NewsClick, Sundriyal, who specialises in the Garhwal region of the Himalayan range, expresses concern about the rising frequency of landslides. He believes the government must set up a special fund to maintain...

Is India a country where most people eat vegetarian food? The answer to this question is a bit complex. The consumption of either vegetarian or non-vegetarian food depends not just on one's personal choice but also on one’s geographical location, caste and religious background, gender and marital status. There are other determining factors as well behind a person's choice of food.  The results of the newly released data of the fifth...

-Newsclick.in Most of the job losses were in agriculture, but 25 lakh salaried jobs were also lost. A perfect storm of delayed monsoon, languishing economy and continued inaction of the government on the jobs front has led to an astonishing decline of 1.3 crore from the total number of employed persons in the country in June this year, according to the latest CMIE estimates. In May, the number of employed persons were...

-The Telegraph A group of retired civil servants has also issued a statement urging the apex court to review its Zakia Jafri verdict A group of retired civil servants has issued a statement urging the Supreme Court to review its Zakia Jafri verdict and withdraw a paragraph that Gujarat police have cited to arrest social activist Teesta Setalvad and former IPS officer R.B. Sreekumar. The apex court had dismissed Zakia’s plea challenging a...

-TheWire.in A recent report on farmer suicides in Punjab reveals the circumstances which lead farmers and farm labourers to take their own lives, debunks popular myths regarding the same, and points to policy measures needed to tackle the problem. Suicides are a sign of a deep crisis in a society. And in Punjab’s so-called ‘agriculturally developed society’, suicides of farmers and farm labourers have been taking place unabated for the last two...