-The Times of India MUMBAI: Families of nearly half of the farmers in Maharashtra who have committed suicide over the last four years are not eligible to get even the paltry Rs 1 lakh compensation thanks to government rules. Maharashtra, along with Tamil Nadu, WB, AP, Chhattisgarh and MP, registers a high number of farmer suicides. An RTI application by activist Jitendra Ghadge has revealed that of the total 5,698 suicides registered...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: Nearly 90 lakh farmers in Maharashtra have been impacted by the drought that has devastated the kharif crop, official data shows. The figure is almost on a par with the population of Sweden. Maharashtra is already known for its farm crisis and reports the highest number of farmer's suicides in the country. The drought - brought on by a delayed and inadequate monsoon - is set to...

-The Hindu Washington: A top global human rights group has criticised the Indian government for its treatment of minorities, lack of protection for women's and children's rights, restrictions on free speech and insufficient support extended for human rights via New Delhi's foreign policy engagements. In its 25th annual World Report on human rights, New York-headquartered Human Rights Watch noted that there was a "spike" in incidents of violence against religious minorities in...

-The Guardian Countries are recognising their obligation to feed their citizens, but with growing corporate control over food systems, the battle is far from over As the first round of intergovernmental negotiations on the sustainable development goals gets under way in New York, I am reminded of the immense struggle over time to ensure that every human being has quality food in sufficient quantity to meet their needs - a right laid...

-Business Standard Former rural development minister Jairam Ramesh tells Sanjeeb Mukherjee that the Ordinance to amend the land acquisition Act (2013) opens the door for forcible acquisition and undermines the spirit and the substance of the legislation. Edited excerpts: * An oft-repeated argument given by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government to justify bringing an Ordinance to amend the land acquisition Act (2013) passed by your government is that many Congress-ruled states...