-Scroll.in/ The Third Pole Flash-flood warnings routed through NGOs are giving border villages precious lead-time to escape the wrath of suddenly rising rivers. In the last few weeks of June, a series of WhatsApp messages were sent from Bhutan to India to warn cross-border friends downstream of the Aai, Saralbhanga and Manas rivers about cloud-bursts, swollen rivers and possible flash floods affecting people in the Indian state of Assam. Although originating from officials,...

-TheWire.in Despite Indian state’s commitment of 6% GDP on education, the Finance Minister completely ignored right to education for children and strengthening implementation of RTE Act which makes education a fundamental right in her budget speech. The Right to Education (RTE) Forum, which is a collective of different stakeholders in education, condemns this neglect of a legal entitlement, which is unconstitutional and demand for overall increase in the budget to ensure...

-Livemint.com * FM vows to invest widely in agriculture infrastructure, but offers little to revive rural income and demand * In terms of new schemes, the budget announced Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana for the fisheries sector and another to boost traditional industries In March 2018, Rakesh Sangwan, 27, a farmer in Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri, stopped watering his tomato plants. The crop slowly withered away and, subsequently, it was mowed down by a...

-TheWire.in There is a serious problem when it comes to both allocation and implementation of schemes for SC/ST development. People who fall under Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) groups constitute 25% of India’s total population. As we approach NDA 2.0’s first budget announcement, it is crucial to examine the policy and practice of its SC/ST budgets over the last five years. It is well established that both groups of people have...

-The Hindu It is imperative to promote community-based care rather than relying only on hospital services The deaths of 154 children in Bihar due to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) has laid bare the precarious capacity of the State’s healthcare apparatus to handle outbreaks. AES has been linked to two factors: litchi consumption by starving children and a long, ongoing heat wave. As promises of bolstering the health infrastructure are being made, it...