-The Hindu Business Line Falling farm prices, drying up of industrial jobs and lesser MGNREGA work have sharpened rural discontent. The Budget cannot ignore these factors in a year of 8 State polls The year 2017 was roiled by rural discontent. After two consecutive drought years (2014-15 and 2015-16), when agriculture growth plummeted (see table), the countryside was awash with hope after a good monsoon in 2016-17. However, record foodgrain output (272 million...

-TheCitizen.in Govt admits no stakeholders consulted; Opposition parties demand Bill deferred to a Standing Committee NEW DELHI: The debate in the Lok Sabha over the Triple Talaq Bill that criminalises the practice with a three year, non bailable prison term, for the erring Muslim husband belonged to Congress MP Sushmita Dev from Assam. After her senior leader Maillkarjun Kharge, had assured the BJP that the Congress was supportive of the Bill, but...

-Hindustan Times Close to half, or 48%, of pregnancies were unintended and 0.8 million women used unsafe methods for an abortion, putting their health and lives at risk. New Delhi: One in three of 48.1 million pregnancies in India ended in an abortion, according to the country’s first large-scale study on abortions and unintended pregnancies that accounted for 2015 data. The country recorded around 15.6 million abortions in 2015, reports the study published...

-The Hindu Thousands of farmers gathered at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on Monday. Banners and flags of different organisations were waved, but what brought them together was a common demand — a one-time complete waiver of farmer loans and fair prices for their produce. Under a common umbrella of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) around 184 farmer groups from across states such as Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh,...

-The Hindu Business Line After decades of neglect, Delhi’s government schools are finally turning the page with much-needed improvements to facilities and teaching methods. But problems such as staff shortage and a broken primary education system refuse to go away easily Delhi’s bustling IP Extension has a familiar skyline — a linear arrangement of ageing residential complexes. A gleaming new building in their midst catches the eye. Until recently, the Rajkiya Sarvodaya...