-The Hindu Business Line To tackle homelessness, the government should provide better incentives to developers to provide affordable housing Food, clothing and shelter are three basic human needs. Out of the three, shelter remains beyond the reach of 1.77 million people in India, accounting for 0.15 per cent of the nation’s population (Census 2011). Rights groups, however, say that the actual figure is at least three times higher. Consequently, a large number...

-The Hindu Business Line Third estimates peg total foodgrain output at 283.3 mt despite below-par monsoon rain Rice and wheat production in the country scaled new heights taking total foodgrain output in 2018-19 to 283.37 million tonnes (mt), a tad lower than the 285 mt foodgrains produced in the previous year, according to the third advance foodgrain estimates released by the Agriculture Ministry on Monday. Despite a below-par monsoon, rice output was projected...

-Down to Earth Despite the rural hinterland being in the throes of agrarian distress, the incumbent coalition has won handsomely in these very areas The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has beaten all odds to win the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Prominent among these odds was the agrarian crisis that rural India is currently in the throes of. Since 2014, the country has suffered two major droughts and 850-odd...

-TheWire.in Amongst all the criticism, the Centre has been tight-lipped about employment data post demonetisation. The issue of ‘unemployment’ is being widely discussed across India. The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data for 2017–2018 says that the unemployment rate hit 6.1%, the highest in 45 years. Even the opposition has intensified its criticism of the present government, which had promised to create 2 crore jobs each year. In a recent interview, in response...

  Initial media reports suggest how timely interventions by various official agencies in Odisha prevented loss of human lives when Cyclone Fani hit that state on 3rd May. However, it is essential to also take into account recent official reports by different agencies, which indicate that the impact of the cyclone has been quite severe. A situation assessment report on the impact of Fani cyclone dated 15th May, 2019, which was released...