-Livemint.com Document-driven processes such as the proposed National Register of Citizens are likely to place the heaviest burden on Adivasis and Muslims Among the many conceits of the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens is this: that only “illegal immigrants" need fear not having the proper documentation. News reporting from Assam has exposed repeatedly that this is not necessarily the case, with women and the poor bearing the brunt of the National...

-The New Indian Express The Survey of India plans to use drones to create a high-resolution map of every inch of India. It comes with unprecedented privacy and security challenges The Survey of India (SoI) has embarked upon an ambitious project of using drone imaging to create an ultra-high resolution spatial and topographic map of India. Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, calls it the biggest endeavour in Indian...

-The Indian Express Five years down the line, official data shows that the progress of SAGY has been sluggish — about two-thirds of Lok Sabha MPs are yet to select gram panchayats under Phase-4 of the scheme. In his first Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) as part of nation-building, urging Lok Sabha MPs...

-TheWire.in The Agriculture Insurance Company of India returned farmers' premiums after one year, claiming that details had not been provided in "soft copy". The bank, however, has not credited the refund into farmers' accounts. Satlana (Jodhpur, Rajasthan): Thousands of farmers in the Satlana gram panchayat of Rajasthan’s Jodhpur, insured under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), have been denied insurance claims for two crop seasons – kharif 2016 and kharif 2017. The...

-Financial Express If panchayat allocations are merged with MGNREGA to aid asset creation, it can trigger infrastructure growth, resulting in extra income and improved conditions. There is a lot of debate around 5% GDP growth and its impact on the organised sector. Although the government has been taking multiple steps to trigger the economy, there is a need to focus on rural India, in terms of optimising of fund allocations and revision...