Development literature is now increasingly talking about rights-based development built on the appeal of the right-rhetoric when every government professes its commitment to realising human rights. Human rights are norms that bind a society and governments derive their legitimacy from fulfilling them. The source of these rights is many — natural rights, divine rights, inherent rights of human beings or self-evidence. The American Declaration of Independence of 1776 considered these...

A series of social audits in NREGS works in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district led to unearthing of humungous irregularities and filing of FIRs against several government and panchayat officials and release of delayed payments worth crores of rupees to the ordinary NREGS workers (See details/ links below). The irregularities included the use of sub-standard material, non-issuance of job cards or post office passbooks and fudging of account books. The audits were organized...

South Asia will be badly hit by declining crop yields stemming from climate change, a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (Ifpri) has found ahead of a food security summit next month. Another study, released by the Food and Agricultural Organization on Thursday, also said that farm yields will be adversely affected by global warming. The Ifpri report—made public on Wednesday—analysed 32 crops and livestock commodities in 281...

Loss in food grains estimated at 16 million tonnes  Overall Kharif output can fall by 15 per cent Call for long-term strategy to tackle vagaries of monsoon Erratic monsoon this kharif could reduce the agricultural crop growth to -2 per cent year-on-year, down from an earlier estimate of 1.4 per cent, according to a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) report released here. The report, “Drought in...

Government may cut the import duty on rice, says official  Paddy and sugarcane production may be lower owing to the floods Agriculture Commissioners of affected States assessing the situation Crucial paddy, onion, sugarcane, and horticulture crops have been lost in the floods in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, though the quantum of loss is being assessed. Paddy and edible oil crops have already been affected by the drought in the northern States,...