-Frontline.thehindu.com Though not the only solution to rural unemployment, it is an important social security measure. Soon after becoming Prime Minister, Narendra Modi mocked the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Parliament and called it a monumental failure of the United Progressive Alliance government. Interestingly, he added that he would not end the scheme but would keep it alive as a symbol of the Congress’ inability to address poverty. Five...

-Outlook India Experts say flooding in urban and peri-urban areas are happening due to unplanned waste dumping and continuous disregard for natural recharge structures like ponds, wetlands, and tanks. The Safdarjung Observatory, one of Delhi's primary weather stations, recorded 189.6 mm of rainfall between June 1 and July 22, which is less than normal (201 mm). But it didn’t change the picture. Every time it rains, water-logging and subsequent traffic snarl for...

-Newsclick.in The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha has called for a protest from August 2 to 4 against insufficient fund allocation, delay in wage disbursal, and other issues in implementing the employment scheme. Kolkata: Uncertainty looms over the Centre's decision on additional fund allocation to the MGNREGA programme before undertaking the traditional mid-term review at the end of August or early September. Contrary to official expectations, the dependence of rural households on jobs under...

Door-to-door and village-to-village surveys carried out by researchers of the Department of Economics and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana detected a total of 9,291 suicides that were committed by farmers in six districts of Punjab during the period from 2000 to 2018. Situated in the Malwa region of Punjab, which is known for cotton farming and the prevalence of cancer among its population, Sangrur (2,506) witnessed the highest number of...

-Down to Earth Sluggish monsoon; area sown down 15%; rural employment stares at meltdown There are disturbing signals of a potential meltdown of the country’s biggest employer and also food producer as the southwest monsoon enters  its second week of the second month. Kharif sowing was down 15 per cent by July 7, in comparison to last year for the same period. Altogether, farmers didn’t sow in 6.3 million hectares (Ha) of farms. Sowing...