-TheWire.in In Gujarat’s Chhota Udaipur, MNREGA has helped villagers increase their earnings, improved connectivity in the area and led to higher farm yields. In the ubiquitous environment of the withdrawal of the welfare state across the globe, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in India stands out as a critical and unique intervention. MNREGA is a social safety net that guarantees 100 days of employment to every rural household...
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Letters for 2 years, SOS to PM, Election Commission still awaits EVM papertrail funds -Ritika Chopra
-The Indian Express VVPAT machines produce a printout of the vote cast using an EVM, which can be shown to the voter to dispel any doubts IN A letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi four months ago, the Election Commission sought urgent release of funds to procure enough Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines to cover all polling stations ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections in 2019. The EC has...
More »SY Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, interviewed by Vrinda Gopinath (Scroll.in)
-Scroll.in In this environment of majoritarianism, we must seriously consider proportional representation, adds SY Quraishi. SY Quraishi, who was Chief Election Commissioner from July 2011 to June 2012, is known to be outspoken about several issues regarding electoral reform both when he was in the Election Commission and after he retired. He has asked for public funding of political parties, putting an expenditure cap on them, financial transparency among parties, and...
More »Maharashtra Farm Ponds: accelerating groundwater exploitation, rather than harvesting rain? -Amruta Pradhan
-South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) Farm ponds dotting the agricultural fields immediately grab your attention as you enter Hiwargaon Pawasa – a small village of about 1500 population in Sangamner Taluka of Ahmadnagar District. The village is located just off NH-50, the national highway connecting Pune and NAShik. Farm ponds start to appear as soon as you turn east from NH-50 (which broadly runs North South) to...
More »Drumsticks beat back poverty in arid zones -Hiren Kumar Bose
-The Hindu Business Line Superfood moringa is proving to be a boon for subsistence farmers Names like PKM 2, Bhagya KDM 1, Rohit 1, Siddhi Vinayaka.... may not ring a bell among urban readers, but those engaged in subsistence farming will recognise these as the high-yielding varieties of Moringa olifera (drumstick tree). This tree (called murungae in Tamil) has been around for ages, but ever since the world at large claimed moringa as...
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