-Live Mint In an unprecedented move, farmers in East Godavari and adjoining districts of Andhra Pradesh declared a crop holiday last season, refusing to cultivate paddy in this fully irrigated region of the state. Farmers say the reason for this drastic step is that cultivating paddy has become unremunerative and they are left with no other choice. The agrarian crisis and its neglect by successive governments are responsible for the low...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Anti-Contempt sentiment strengthens in Kerala
-The Pioneer The imprisonment of top CPI(M) leader MV Jayarajan for six months by the Kerala High Court the other day for calling two judges nincompoops has led to reopening of debates in the State on the limits of the Judiciary’s authority to use the sword of contempt of court provisions against those who criticize it and its verdicts. A large section of lawyers in Kerala now wants the judges to stop...
More »TN, AP switch to leaky cash payouts for NREGS by Sandip Das
Tamil Nadu has stopped using banks to pay workers employed under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), turning the clock back on the programme that was expected to eliminate layers of middlemen in reaching money to the poor. Rural development ministry officials at the Centre confirmed the development, but termed it “a temporary setback”. However, Tamil Nadu is not alone. Andhra Pradesh too has asked some of its poorest...
More »MGNREGA mobile courts proposed for every district to fast-track conviction of erring officials
-The Economic Times The government's flagship rural employment programme may soon get a dedicated legal setup that would enable state governments to fast-track conviction of erring officials and panchayat heads implementing the scheme. The rural development ministry, which implements the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) through state departments and panchayats, is going to approach the Supreme Court to facilitate setting up of NREGA mobile courts in every district....
More »Putting Growth In Its Place by Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen
It has to be but a means to development, not an end in itself Is India doing marvellously well, or is it failing terribly? Depending on whom you speak to, you could pick up either of those answers with some frequency. One story, very popular among a minority but a large enough group—of Indians who are doing very well (and among the media that cater largely to them)—runs something like...
More »