-Frontline The Left and other national parties protest against the NDA government's attempts to dilute the MGNREGS by limiting its budget and reducing its reach. IN a rare show of solidarity, representatives of several political parties took issue with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on its controversial proposal to restructure the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The opposition, which was initially confined to the...

-The Hindu It can be turned as green manure TIRUNELVELI (Tamil Nadu): Farmers in rain-fed areas of the district have cultivated pulses as intercrop in orchards not only for good revenue but also to benefit from pulses' ability to nourish the soil to ensure better yield in the main crop also. Pulses are cultivated as intercrop in most of the orchards so as to enrich the soil indirectly for enhanced microbial activity as...

-Down to Earth Chhattisgarh's much appreciated public distribution scheme is falling apart due to corruption and mismanagement As chhattisgarh prepares for panchayat election at the end of the year, the fate of ration card holders in the state is in limbo. During a verification drive in July-August, the state government found almost 1.3 million "unnecessary" ration cards in the possession of people. These cards have been taken back by the government and...

-Deccan Chronicle Kochi (Kerala): The man who started the first hi-tech farm in Kerala is perhaps closer to achieving his dream of helping the state become self-reliant in vegetable cultivation. Shivdas B. Menon, who quit a plush corporate job some 25 years ago to set up a business in agriculture technology here, believes that in another two to three years, Malayalis will be able to celebrate Onam with safe-to-eat vegetables grown...

-Economic and Political Weekly One knows who will suffer if the Narendra Modi government succeeds in weakening MGNREGA. The largest public employment programme the world has ever seen is in trouble. In 2013-14, 74 million individuals in 48 million households in rural India were employed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act programme (or MGNREGA as it is called), with each household on average finding work for 46 days. This...