-The Economic Times WASHINGTON: As India gears up to provide food security cover to 67% of its population, a report compiled by Global Development Network says that the challenges to food security and rural livelihood is fast growing not only in India but in entire South Asia. The report says that the problem can be addressed by investment in agriculture and rural livelihoods on a priority basis. "Financial investment in agriculture research...

-www.esocialsciences.com and Iris Knowledge Foundation Every third person you meet in an Indian city today is a youth.  In about seven years the median age in India will be 29 years, very likely of a city-dweller, making it the youngest country in the world. The State of the Urban Youth India 2012: Employment, Livelihoods, Skills is published by IRIS Knowledge Foundation (IKF), Mumbai India for the UN-HABITAT Global Urban Youth Research...

-Frontline The Land Acquisition Bill runs into a roadblock as political parties fail to reach an agreement on the substantive features of the draft Bill or on the amendments proposed. The efforts of the United Progressive Alliance government to broker a consensus on the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012, which has been pending for over a year, have not paid off not because...

-The Hindu   "If we are going to be serious about supporting women's SHGs, then we need a development finance institution" Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's proposal to establish a bank exclusively for women - which he described as the highlight of this year's budget - may have garnered applause from across party lines in Parliament and could be set up as early as October; but that hasn't stopped his Cabinet colleague and Rural...

-Live Mint Indians who live in slums are not very different from those who live elsewhere, in terms of ownership of assets Indians who live in slums are not very different from those who live elsewhere, in terms of their ownership of assets, including consumer products and houses, although they may not have the same access to water and sanitation. The finding, reflected in Census 2011 data that was released on Thursday, reinforces...