-TheWire.in BJP has now realised that Hindutva and identity politics by themselves are not enough to win. In Post-Mandal India, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s attempt to build electoral alliances tying upper castes and non-dominant OBCs is not new. This is a strategy the party used in the mid-1990s across North India to resist the consolidation of pro-Mandal parties and prevent the formation of large coalitions of “backwards”. Mid-1990s onwards, the BJP distributed...

-Article-14.com Even as landslides increased 2900% over five years in a fragile Himalayan state ravaged by deforestation and construction, the government of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami lifted environmental safeguards and made mining easier, two months before state elections. The High Court has demanded the government explain the changes, rushed through in 15 days in a state where mining companies are major funders of political parties. New Delhi: Two months before elections...

-Down to Earth The state is considering rolling out its own insurance programme for farmers Maharashtra may follow several other big states and opt out Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), the Narendra Modi government’s much-vaunted crop insurance scheme. India’s second-most populous state may replace the central scheme with its own — a step already adopted by states like West Bengal. Farmer groups have already flagged irregularities in PMFBY at a February 1,...

-TheWire.in Despite increasing allocated funds, the Union government has been unable to significantly improve penetration of crop insurance in terms of enrolled farmers and insured areas. India’s agriculture sector, which provides employment to more than 50% of the labour force and contributes about 17% of the gross domestic product, currently faces multiple challenges. Smaller land holdings, unfavourable climate changes events, dismal public and private investment, low monthly incomes, a high proportion of...

-Livemint.com We need long-term solutions as we also have plenty of joblessness that is disguised as employment Last month witnessed protests in several parts of north India by students who had appeared for the Non-Technical Popular Categories exam conducted by the Railway Recruitment Board. This was to fill up 35,000 Posts for which 12.5 million candidates had applied. While the RRB’s decision to set up a committee to examine the issue may...