-The Hindu A little used provision in the Constitution may hold the key to protecting the interests of Scheduled Tribes as they fight to hold on to their traditional lands Even 67 years after Independence, the problems of Adivasi communities are about access to basic needs. These include, but are not restricted to, elementary education, community healthcare, sustainable livelihood support, the public distribution system, food security, drinking water and sanitation, debt, and...

-Huffington Post NEW DELHI - A searing El Nino was to have sucked the rains out of India, but meteorologists here can't explain why is it raining so much. Rains in north-west India are, as of 21st July, eight percent more than what the region usually gets between June 1 --the onset of the monsoon--and late July. Moreover the latest forecast from both state and private meteorologists is that beginning this week,...

-Down to Earth Srihari kurade proudly walks through his orchard of kokum (Garciniaindica), a wild fruit that is famous for its therapeutic properties. With more than 2,400 trees spread over seven hectares (ha) of land, his orchard in South Goa is the world’s largest kokum plantation. Kurade is also perhaps the only farmer in the region to have taken up systematic large-scale plantation of the fruit that is endemic to the...

-The Indian Express Socio-Economic and Caste Census can help identify welfare beneficiaries without falling into a binary trap. The release earlier this month of the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) has been followed by much media analysis. Some have expressed scepticism about what it shows and others have treated it as yet another set of numbers on how many are poor in India. It has also been variously hailed as revolutionising benefit...

-The Hindu To help break the impasse on the Bill, the Cabinet decided on adding a provision to enable the States to frame and pass their own laws. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, deliberated on Tuesday a proposal to amend the Land Bill to give flexibility to the States to frame their own laws for land acquisition, a demand various Chief Ministers aired at the July 15 meeting...