-Livemint.com The production of ‘mahua’ is finally entering the formal economy as new initiatives seek to upscale this indigenous drink, selling it across the country and even the globe It is a cloudy morning in Nangur village in Bastar district, Chattisgarh. It is a settlement of a little over 400 families, considered fairly large in these parts. We make a bumpy journey down a narrow, unpaved road intermittently shaded by sargi (sal)...

-TheWire.in Tea plantations are touted as the country's second largest employer, but as many of them shut down, workers are being cheated by agents who exploit and traffick them. The once-thriving tea gardens in the fertile Dooars region of West Bengal have now fallen on hard times. The tea industry is touted as the country’s second largest employer, but also an industry that undermines labour rights and deprives workers and their...

-The Hindu It's time we stopped neglecting urban ecosystems Countless poets and lovers have declaimed over the ages that Venice is not just a city; it’s a living dream. By that same measure, irreverent others would hold that during the monsoons in India, its cities are more than just cities; they are lived nightmares. Venice’s waterways are celebrated the world over and hordes of tourists descend on the city every year. In...

-The Indian Express Kerala floods: The labour department accommodated stranded migrants in relief camps in many parts of Kerala along with local residents. As local residents are shifting back to their houses and camps are being shut, some migrant workers are leaving for their home states. Kochi (Kerala): Scores of migrant workers from the north and northeastern India have left Kerala since the devastating floods. Two special trains have ferried migrants to...

-The Hindu Business Line Farmers want Govt to begin purchasing immediately Bengaluru: As the new kharif moong (green gram) hits the markets in North Karnataka, prices of the pulses crop are trading lower at around Rs.5,100 a quintal, much lower than the minimum support price of Rs.6,975 announced by the Centre. In fact, the prevailing prices in the State are also lower than last year’s support price of Rs.5,575/quintal, growers said, while demanding...