Gary Singh’s abduction ordeal illustrates the dangers faced by those who rely on smugglers to make their way overseas One day in 2006, 18-year-old Gubachan “Gary” Singh, an illegal immigrant in Manila, Philippines, was on his way to work when he was approached by four stocky Filipinos. One pulled out a gun, pressing the barrel into the small of his back, while another blindfolded him and shoved him into a van....
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The other side of food inflation: Farm labour costs rise 50% in two years by Harish Damodaran
Everyone knows how much food prices have risen in the last few years. Not everyone, however, knows how much costs have spiralled for those who produce the food you and I eat. Data on daily wage rates for agricultural operations, compiled by the Labour Bureau at Shimla, show huge increases to have taken place in most States during 2009 and 2010. Andhra Pradesh, for instance, has seen farm wage rates – the...
More »No country for fallow land by Rasheeda Bhagat
The National Agro Foundation is on a mission to improve yield and income, especially for small farmers. Anyone planning to improve the lot of farmers in the country would do well to begin with these wise words: “Fallowness is in one's mind and not in the soil.” This was constantly uttered by C. Subramaniam, the architect of India's agricultural policies that led to the Green Revolution. While his policies and high-yielding varieties...
More »NREGA: Govt to look into FIR filed in Re 1 wage
The state government on Tuesday assured that it will examine the First Information Report filed for paying extremely low wages to MGNREGA workers in Gudliya village in Tonk district. The FIR had charged six village mates for paying just Re 1 as wages to about 99 workers. However, after protests by members of various organisations during the monthly meeting of NREGA, minister for rural development Bharat Singh assured that the department...
More »Young reporters trained by UNICEF tackle social issues in rural India by Diana Coulter
CHHATTISGARH, India, 6 May 2011 – When Pausha Madharia, 16, speaks, she gives voice to the hopes, dreams and fears of every child in the Indian State of Chhattisgarh. Standing before the State Assembly recently, she shared her concerns about child labour, discrimination faced by young girls and the troubles that some students encounter when they’re simply trying to attend school. Pausha told legislators that drunken men sprawled on the road...
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