In the midst of national debates over the need for labour laws reforms and the efficacy of MG-NREGA in checking distress migration, a new report brings spotlight on the miserable living and working conditions of unorganized migrant workers from Rajasthan. Titled Their Own Country: A Profile of Labor Migration from Rajasthan, the report prepared jointly by Aajeevika Bureau and UNESCO informs us that 70% of seasonal migrant workers from Rajasthan...

-The Hindustan Times The government is gearing up for its next big mission, a Rs. 113,000-crore plan that aims to usher in a digital revolution by moving everything online, from education to public services to bureaucracy. Aptly called ‘e-kranti', it comes under the Narendra Modi government's ‘Digital India' initiative and is quite simply the world's most ambitious broadband project - but one that will have to overcome countless hurdles, big and small....

-Economic and Political Weekly The public distribution system is widely criticised for being ridden with chronic corruption and failing to deliver benefits in a systematic manner. Using a sample of 793 households in the district of Koraput in Odisha, this article reviews the performance of the PDS in the district and highlights three important points: first, distribution of foodgrains, specifically rice, through the PDS has undergone vast improvements in the past...

-The Times of India COIMBATORE: Horticulture production has surpassed production of food grains in the country for the first time and the Central Government is likely to create further growth in horticulture to ensure that the country can access a balanced diet, said agriculturists at the inauguration of the Indian Horticulture Congress here on Thursday. Field crops like rice, wheat and maize contribute to only 30% of the agriculture production in the...

-The Hindu Business Line Now that the gains from the first round have petered out, we need to embrace biotech to boost farm productivity As India seeks to ignite the next agrarian revolution, it must try and absorb some of the lessons of the Green Revolution. Currently, agricultural productivity and growth vary from State to State, resulting in regional disparities. Through targeted policymaking, investment in rural infrastructure and research, and ongoing support...