-Deccan Chronicle On August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, a financial inclusion scheme that will ensure that at least one member of each and every family in India not only has a bank account with a debit card, but is also provided an overdraft facility of Rs 5,000, a life insurance policy of Rs 30,000 and accident insurance cover of Rs 1,00,000. On August...
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India's starving tea-garden workers -Sanjay Pandey
-Al Jazeera More than 100 workers have died of starvation since West Bengal's tea estates have begun shutting down. Jalpaiguri/Alipurduar, India - The picturesque tea gardens carpeting West Bengal's Dooars region are gradually turning into graveyards, as dozens of workers have fallen victim to starvation in recent months. More than 100 tea-garden workers have died of starvation in the past year amid site closures, activists say - but rather than taking action, the...
More »2-child norm for local bodies hurts sex ratio -Rukmini S
-The Hindu Research finds drastic consequences India's attempt at a China-type population control policy appears to have had drastic but unintended consequences. Laws enacted by State governments in the late 1990s and 2000s restricting political eligibility to candidates with two or less children did reduce family sizes in those States, but severely affected the sex ratio, a new research has found. Over the period, 11 Indian States passed laws disqualifying persons with more...
More »Too many hungry stomachs -Jose Graziano da Silva
-The Hindu Business Line India's experience will help it lead the charge on hunger and food security worldwide Can India defeat hunger and malnutrition? It's a question that's been asked many times and at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), we are confident that the answer is not only "yes it can", but that India, a founding member of FAO, can play a leading role in eradicating hunger worldwide. Following Independence...
More »What’s so bad about development? -Deborah Doane
-The Guardian Third world or global south? Pro-poor or pro-wealth? The term ‘development' is a minefield that eclipses the real issues The idea of "development" can still conjure up romantic visions among some about helping to improve the lives of people in the "third world" through sheer goodwill. Yet we hold on to the term and defend it. We also hold on to the UK's Department for International Development or the millennium...
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