-The Hindu Every effort needs to be made to reform MGNREGA, as it has been both a major success and a huge failure. The best way for this is to study carefully the conditions that made it a success and also to undertake a diagnostics of its failures An impression has gained ground in recent weeks that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre is inimical to the Mahatma Gandhi...

-The Hindu No agency provided any prior warning about the massive floods in Jammu and Kashmir "What suddenly caused Jammu and Kashmir to be ravaged by floods?" is now the raging question. As families of victims struggle to come to terms with the large-scale impact of the tragedy and as people all over the country attempt to understand the reasons for it, it remains to be seen how deep this concern really...

-Deccan Chronicle We are faced with two crises on a planetary scale - climate change and species extinction. Our current modes of production and consumption, starting with the Industrial Revolution and aggravated by the advent of industrial agriculture, have contributed to both. If no action is taken to reduce greenhouse gases, we could experience a catastrophic 4°C increase in temperatures by the end of the century. But climate change is not just...

-The Telegraph Bihar: The statewide torrential rain in mid-August caused flood conditions in 16 districts but came as a boon for standing paddy crop. Figures say the overall kharif transplantation coverage went up by nearly 40 per cent during August. It was 54 per cent on August 1 and touched 93 per cent on September 1. It came as a major relief for farmers and the state government, as, till the first week...

-The Business Standard Every year, like clockwork, India is caught between the spectre of months of crippling water shortages and drought and months of devastating floods. In 2014, there has been no respite from this annual cycle. But something new and strange is indeed afoot. Each year, the floods are growing in intensity. Each year, the rain events get more variable and more extreme. Each year, economic damages increase -...