-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...

-Hindustan Times Millions of domestic migrants in India may soon get to vote in elections in their native areas without leaving their places of employment if a government proposal to extend postal ballot facilities to them is successful. Sources said a committee of ministers has been asked to examine the possibility of allowing the choice of postal ballots — both electronically and through proxy voters — to domestic migrant labourers and workers,...

-Hindustan Times New Delhi: The monsoon, in its withdrawal phase now, has revived over key drought-hit states that account for over a third of India’s food output, offering respite to millions of farmers battling tough conditions and a government staring at a rural crisis. The late surge, not unusual, has narrowed current rainfall deficiency from 16% to 15% for the June-September season. Overnight, Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region and the states of Chhattisgarh, Telangana...

-Hindustan Times The Cabinet on Wednesday took two decisions that focus on rural India: First, it approved an additional 50 days of work for farmers/workers under the MGNREGS over and above the 100 days in areas where drought or natural calamities have been notified; and, second, it okayed a plan to develop a cluster of ‘smart villages’ to transform rural areas to economically, socially and physically sustainable spaces. The two decisions...

-Hindustan Times Jhabua: In the small, nondescript villages of Central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh's Jhabua district, a group of tribals have joined hands to show the way forward to sustainable future by adopting organic farming.   Two years ago, the tribals of Chhaya Paschim village in the district, about 300 kms from the state's capital Bhopal, were inspired to switch to organic farming by Mahesh Sharma, a social worker and local agriculture...