-The Indian Express The fresh set of orders triggered panic as people boarded buses, hired SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles and pick-up trucks to reach towns like Jorhat, Charaideo, Sivasagar and Golaghat. Guwahati: From two sisters on board a bus to a senior citizen who fell ill during a hearing, four persons, including a 14-year-old girl, have died since Monday in Assam. All were among the thousands summoned for fresh National Register...

-The Indian Express With the short deadline adding to the panic, and the government tight-lipped, villagers across the two districts hired vehicles to make the long travel, many of them for the first time in their lives. ON SUNDAY, Abu Sama and Abu Bakkar boarded a packed bus with their young children and wives, hoping to make it to a hearing of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Jorhat, over...

-Livemint.com Erratic monsoon rains and skewed farm incentives have led to the growing groundwater crisis, impacting farm incomes and availability of drinking water India’s monsoon provides relief from oppressive heat but, more importantly, it provides sustenance for millions. A timely and sufficient monsoon is a critical input for farmers but increasingly, because of climate change, the monsoon is becoming less reliable. Exacerbating this is a set of policies which encourage water wastage,...

-The Hindu They can be an effective tool for rainwater harvesting With an increased variability of monsoons and rapidly depleting groundwater tables, large parts of India are reeling under water stress. A number of peninsular regions like Bundelkhand, Vidarbha and Marathwada have been facing recurring drought-like situations. Given the enormity of the crisis, at a recent NITI Aayog meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi explicated the need to implement innovative water management measures,...

  A recent press release by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) shows that the declared minimum support price (MSP) for most kharif crops to be marketed in 2019-20 is at least 50 percent above the cost of production. The official information related to the newly declared MSP, which came two days ahead of the Union Budget presentation, gives the impression that the newly re-elected NDA government has kept its promise...