-The Hindu Surveys conducted by activists estimate that there are over 1.2 million manual scavengers in India As numbers become data and move from being just a random rearrangement of 0-9, they speak volumes about peoples, nations, and their objectives. They form the basis of government policies, and have the intrinsic potential to change lives, correct historical wrongs and national trajectories. The last election results, we were told, were a message from ‘Aspirational...

-Hindustan Times About 330 million people are affected by drought in 10 states as 256 districts reel from severe water shortages and poor farmers suffer crop losses. The current dry spell is partly because of two back-to-back years of bad monsoons. Policy makers have no control over fickle weather whims. As credit rating and research agency Crisil points out, the rising frequency of weather shocks amid higher vulnerabilities has compounded agrarian...

-The Indian Express The data for 10 drought-hit states show that a total of 1.52 crore people got employment under MGNREGA in the financial year ending March 31, 2015. For states hit with severe drought, the latest decision of the Ministry of Rural Development to continue providing 150 days of employment under MGNREGA may come as a much-needed succour. However, data shows that in 2015-16 of the households that were provided...

-IndiaTimes.com Since 1995, nearly three lakh farmers have committed suicide owing to agrarian crisis in the country. In Maharashtra alone nearly 60,000 farmers have ended their lives in last two decades. Last year itself, the western states recorded 3,228 farmer suicides with maximum cases coming from drought hit Marathwada and Vidharbha region. According to the census, nearly 2,000 farmers across India are giving up agriculture daily and opting for other menial jobs...

-FirstPost.com New Delhi: India is in the grip of a drought for the second year running. On an average, 9 farmers committed suicide daily in Maharashtra alone last year. A fight against drought of course needs adequate supply of drinking water and foodgrain but it also requires the government to augment existing Central initiatives and launch new schemes for affected states. Is the government doing enough to help drought affected regions? Last week,...