-Economic and Political Weekly A survey to identify who the poor are and how many are actually poor is necessary if programmes and benefits targeted at the needy are to reach them. The Socio Economic Caste Census, of which partial results have been published, was intended to do this. Yet, even a cursory look at the figures indicates that they call for a willing suspension of disbelief. N C Saxena (naresh.saxena@gmail.com) was...
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Properly used, Jan Dhan Yojna could lessen farmers' suicides
-Hindustan Times For a country that is set to be ranked among the world’s top five economies over the next decade, India cannot afford to be counted as a home for impoverished farmers who are ending their lives because they do not have the money to return loans as small as Rs 10,000. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, 5,650 farmers committed suicide in India last year. Bankruptcy and...
More »Untouchability creeps into mid-day meals: report -Swathi V
-The Hindu Hyderabad: Religious dogmas and untouchability find way even into the food served to schoolchildren as part of the mid-day meal scheme, as reported by a study in Telangana. While a few news Reports have already appeared about parents objecting to meals cooked by Scheduled Caste women, the study led by the Caring Citizens’ Collective (CCC) vouches that many more similar cases are hushed up by teachers. The CCC is an...
More »Tribal Priestesses Become Guardians of Seeds in Eastern India -Manipadma Jena
-IPS News NIYAMGIRI: As the rhythmic thumping of dancing feet reaches a crescendo, the women offer a song to their forest god for a bountiful harvest. Then, with earthen pots on their heads and their spiritual creatures – a pigeon and a hen – in tow, they proceed in single file on a long march away from their village of Kadaraguma, located on the Niyamgiri mountain range in the Rayagada District of...
More »Did the number of farmer suicides really halve last year? -Sayantan Bera
-Livemint.com Change of definition behind fall rather than plan for bettering lot of poor farmers, improving agricultural economy New Delhi: Between 2013 and 2014, the number of farmer suicides halved. That’s what the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) which tracks farmer suicides would have us believe. It isn’t an improvement in India’s agricultural economy or a programme aimed at bettering the lot of poor farmers that has achieved this. Instead, it is a...
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