-The Times of India KOLKATA: Consumers could face long power outages in the coming days as a deficient monsoon and sweltering heat in most parts of the country have raised electricity demand while state run power generators are threatening to cut off supplies to distribution companies (discoms) unless they pay up Rs 20,000-crore outstanding bills. As nearly 80 per cent of the dues are owed by northern and eastern utilities, states like...
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What makes Jharkhand the hunting ground of human traffickers -Danish Raza
-Hindustan Times About 50 km south of Ranchi, in Khunti district, a narrow dirt road leads to Ganloya village. Makeshift shops selling tobacco and mobile recharge cards are interspersed with thatched huts and tamarind trees in the hamlet of Panna Lal Mahto, allegedly one of India’s biggest human traffickers. Despite the scorching heat, girls play barefoot in a clearing by a rice field. Nearby, a group of men sitting on a charpoy drink...
More »Fixing India’s farm failures
-Livemint.com India needs to invest more in developing rural infrastructure The script is familiar. After borrowing heavily for inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, farmers in most parts of India wait for the monsoon. When the rain fails, the farmers’ agony begins. Forced migration to Cities in search of manual work, distress sales of land and, in extreme cases, suicides are the way out. This kharif season has a distressingly familiar ring...
More »India is phasing out the use of DDT, but it's not tackling its long-term effects -Radhika Singh
-DNA A poisoned country A few weeks ago, India entered into an agreement with the UN to end the use of the insecticide DDT by 2020. DDT had been used in agriculture for decades until it was restricted in 1989, but 6,000 tonnes of DDT are still produced annually for the eradication of mosquitoes and other pests. This would be perfectly understandable, except for the simple fact that DDT has become...
More »Centre unveils package to tackle rural distress --Elizabeth Roche, Saurabh Kumar and Utpal Bhaskar
-Livemint.com MGNREGS work days increased to 150 from 100; Rs.5,142 cr rurban project to create 300 smart village clusters New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on Wednesday unveiled a package of measures to combat rural distress in the backdrop of a below-average monsoon rainfall. The Union cabinet decided to increase the number of days of employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) from the existing 100...
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