-Down to Earth Illegal mining has ravaged the mountain range in the past few decades. Down To Earth investigates the loss and traces the legal developments in Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi Abdal khan is a prisoner of geography. A resident of Nimli village in Rajasthan’s Alwar district, Khan, who claims to be over 100 years old, is mostly bedridden in his home nestled in the foothills of the Aravallis. He stays quiet...

-The Hindu Unable to sustain their primary occupation, many are said to have begun migrating to cities to work as daily-wage labourers COIMBATORE: KM Ramagoundar, president of the Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangam and a farmer based out of Karugur, about 25 km from Krishnagiri, is a frustrated man these days. “Even the so-called big farmers, who own five or six acres, have started going to Bengaluru, where they are working as daily-wage labourers. This...

-The Indian Express Far from the excitement of entering a new grade, thousands of EWS children are facing an uncertain future as they reach Class IX. With parents being asked to pay fee they cannot afford, The Indian Express looks at what caused the crisis New Delhi: As a five-year-old in 2011, when her parents walked her to school, she craned her neck to try and take in the expanse of...

-The Hindu Governments can provide direct cash transfers while creating conditions for employment With the Congress promising through the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) scheme ?6,000 every month to the poorest 20% of households if voted to power, Mahendra Dev and Pronab Sen talk of the importance and problems of direct cash transfers. Providing social protection is important even as governments try to create conditions for income-generating activities, they say in a discussion...

-Firstpost.com Gaighata (North 24 Parganas): West Bengal accounts for 1.04 crore out of India’s 1.48 crore population harmed by arsenic. At present, 20 percent of the state’s population is vulnerable to arsenic-related ailments like skin cancer, and heart and lung diseases. Out of 12 affected districts in West Bengal, the most seriously affected areas are in North 24-Parganas (21 blocks), South 24-Parganas (12 blocks), Nadia (17 blocks), Hooghly (21 blocks), Malda...