-The Indian Express Rural crisis needs nuanced interventions, not tall promises in party manifestos Farmers were sold a dream in 2014 that everything was going to change. But now they have compelling reasons to feel they were deceived. Party manifestos indicate what the politicians want us to believe. After elections, winners get either selective amnesia (Rs 15 lakh in each bank account), re-interpret promises (MSP at C2+50 per cent), continue to...

-The Indian Express World Press Freedom Index 2019 reveals an increased sense of hostility towards journalists across the world, with violent attacks in India leading to at least six Indian journalists being killed in the line of their work last year. In the backdrop of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, India dropped two places to be ranked 140th out of 180 countries in the global press freedom index analysis released Thursday...

-THe Telegraph Sugarcane labour contractors run a system that discriminates against women by appearing to be gender-neutral After all, it is not genital mutilation. Or vagina sealing. Those are some of the agonizing traditional rituals for girls in various countries intended to make them attractive to men and sexually faithful to their husbands. Attempts to put an end to these practices began in the 1970s, and the United Nations requested healthcare workers...

-The New Indian Express LATUR (Maharashtra): The Danger of forced migration looms large over Marathwada as the drought has worsened and the water crisis has deepened. Consecutive droughts and the use of tankers for water supply has earned the region the moniker ‘Tankerwada’. But the crisis this year is the worst, elders in the region say. The state government declared drought in 17,985 villages on October 30 last year. After an assessment...

-The Hindu Rayalaseema districts descending into the grip of drought Vijayawada: With about two months to go for the onset of monsoon, the water has hit rock bottom in the reservoirs and the ground water position in the State, particularly the drought-prone Rayalaseema districts is precariously low. While the water level in Srisailam project is Dangerously low (813.6 feet against the full reservoir level of 885 feet) having only 36.45 tmcft of water,...