-The Indian Express According to a PMO statement, Modi called for a focus on medium and long-term solutions for “drought-proofing” Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah to discuss the drought situation. The Centre and the states resolved to work together to mitigate problems faced by people against the backdrop of a severe water shortage. According to...

It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre’s social welfare policies. Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition & drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please click here to access),...

Although the focus of erstwhile UPA and the present NDA government has been to achieve higher economic growth by reaping the 'demographic dividend', a recent report from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) informs us that a substantial chunk of the population underwent ageing during the last 60 years. The report entitled Elderly in India: Profile and Programmes 2016 from CSO (that comes under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation) shows...

-The Hindu The politics of patronage and personality in the State has reduced the electorate to passive recipients of welfare. “The food is good. The place is clean. Actually, I prefer the cleanliness over the menu,” P. Divaraj chuckles. “The real reason I’m here is because it’s the end of the month and I’m running out of money.” A 10-minute walk from his office to Amma Unavagam on Santhome High Road in...

-The Times of India Rice varieties that could grow during droughts or floods, tolerate saltwater, and carry distinct aromas or medicinal benefits - India has lost 1.10 lakh such traditional rice types. Some fifty years ago, these varieties abounded in the country, which is striving currently to ensure food security for all. Now, however, only 7,000odd local varieties remain and not all are grown. A traditional variety of rice is passed from...