-Down to Earth Dry June led to late paddy transplantation; More than half of targetted acreage lie uncultivated     A dry June followed by a rainy July might delay Kharif crops in Odisha this monsoon. Farmers in several districts, mainly the western and Coastal Areas, have yet to start paddy transplantation due to erratic rainfall. Through July 23, paddy was sown in 1.27 million hectares out of 3.5 million hectares planned by...

In the absence of income or expenditure-based headcount ratio, the growth in the real wages (i.e., nominal wages adjusted against retail inflation) of the manual workers is considered to be a good proxy to assess the trends in poverty. This is because the manual, unskilled/ semi-skilled labourers exist at the bottom of the pyramid or economic hierarchy, and most of them belong to the social categories Scheduled Castes (SCs) and...

-The Wire Science * Several houses along the eastern Indian coast have been impacted by constant sea erosion, cyclones and other environmental factors. Those living there have abandoned these houses. * Some living in these vulnerable areas, close to the Bay of Bengal, voluntarily moved as the tidal waves hit their homes, while others were resettled by the government. * Inter-state migration from such coastal hotspots has also been reported from Odisha, Andhra...

In the month of January this year, more than 100 homeless persons died (please click here and here to access) in Delhi-NCR due to cold wave like conditions. Although a Delhi-based non-government organisation (NGO) Centre for Holistic Development (CHD) made that claim, and therefore asked the Chief Minister of Delhi to make proper arrangements for the homeless poor during winters, the officials of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB)...

-The Telegraph Rainy weekend forecast for Kolkata and Bengal South 24-Parganas which encompasses a major portion of the Sunderbans is the most cyclone-affected district in the country, finds a study carried out by the India Meteorological Department in Pune. The first-of-its-kind analysis called Climate Hazards and Vulnerability Atlas of India was conducted recently by the wing of climate research and services at the IMD. The finding was based on all cyclones which passed within...