-Livemint.com/ AP Hundreds of millions of people in at least 13 states are reeling from severe drought, a situation that is expected to worsen in the coming months Shahapur: Shantabai Babulkar’s day begins before dawn with a 5 kilometer trek across barren fields and dusty scrubland to fetch water from a distant well for her family. The two metal pots of muddy water that Babulkar, 58, balances on her head and a...

-The Indian Express Of the Rs 21,000 crore expected to be released till June, this month the ministry has provided Rs 12,000 crore to the states towards payment of last year’s arrears for labour cost as well as for the month of April. Anticipating a huge spike in the demand for work due to severe drought conditions in most parts of the country, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has decided...

-The Indian Express In Maharashtra, where the sugar industry and politics are twined, drought is a manmade disaster Rains fall from the sky, but drought is “made” on the ground, at least in Maharashtra. The prevailing water crisis in the state is not about the unavailability of water resources. It’s all about criminal mismanagement of available resources. For the record: Yes, rains were deficient last year. In regions like Marathwada, which is facing...

-The Hindu Business Line A national platform for agri-produce can be a game-changer. But persuading States is key Most political regimes in India brand themselves as pro-farmer, and so it is ironic that the country’s market for agriculTural produce is among its least liberalised. Given the perishable naTure of agri-produce, the farmer is already up against strucTural constraints such as lack of scale economies and the rudimentary state of storage and logistics...

-The Hindu Drought has devastated once-prosperous LaTur. In this two-part series Sharad Vyas (text) and Vivek Bendre (photographs) report from the parched district. LaTur: The water train chugging into LaTur last week capTured national attention. But it took the spotlight away from the daily struggle of lakhs of people facing the immediate consequences of extended drought and acute water scarcity in LaTur district. The vagaries of naTure have already taken their toll:...