-Livemint.com As the world celebrates World Water Day on 22 March, the situation in India is grim New Delhi: As the world celebrates World Water Day on 22 March, the situation in India is grim. In Maharashtra’s parched Latur district, the collector has imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, banning the assembly of more than five people near tanker-filling points, public wells, tanker-plying routes and storage tanks. The ban, which...

-The Morung Express Chizami: “The Nagas are very hard working people,” said Swarupama continually on her first visit to Nagaland from Yedakupalli village in Medak district of Telangana State. She is a senior leader among the team of Dalit women farmers, videographers and coordinator here for the International Women’s Day and Biodiversity Festival observed by the North East Network in Chizami, Phek district, on March 8 and 9. The women are part...

-The Hindu Business Line The wool of this north Karnataka breed has helped the herder community handcraft a crorepati business These sheep, strikingly black, have a rich coat of coarse wool that has long provided the army and police force with a steady supply of warm blankets. Called Deccani, the lambs are sheared twice a year, each of them yielding a little over one kg of raw wool, which is ideal for...

-The Hindu The steps taken towards social democracy are being reversed. What we have now are social insurance policies from above. This subverts the entire project of giving voice to the voiceless. India has paid a heavy price for failing to institutionalise social democracy It is generally agreed that theories of social democracy, in comparison to theories of formal political democracy, take cognisance of background inequalities that hamper the realisation of basic...

-The Financial Express It is expected that the measures announced in the Budget will boost agricultural output and rural incomes It appears that Budget FY17 has not generated enough excitement in media, academics and the masses, including farmers. Currently, farm distress is a serious concern in the country. The Livelihood security of the rural population is in peril. Farmers are in dire need of substantial help to come out of the crisis-like...