-The Hindu Jaipur: As part of an ambitious plan to revamp Ujala Clinics for adolescents, the Rajasthan government will appoint peer educators and “shadow educators” for counselling of youngsters and ensure better coordination with other medical and health schemes. Ujala Clinics are functioning at the government health facilities in 10 districts of the State. A workshop of adolescent health counsellors was organised here earlier this week under the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram...

-The Hindu Several interventions are needed on the demand and supply side to alleviate farm distress Loan waivers remain the preferred solution for governments to tackle farm distress. S. Mahendra Dev and M. Govinda Rao talk about the inability of governments to think of long-term solutions to tackle farm distress, in a discussion moderated by Vikas Dhoot. Edited excerpts: * Despite farm productivity rising, severe distress in the sector is a concern. How...

-IANS New Delhi: The ambitious PM-KISAN scheme that aims to provide Rs 6,000 annually to small and marginal farmers will reach only 38 per cent of the intended beneficiaries by the end of ongoing Lok sabha polls, thanks to tardy furnishing of information by the states, lack of digitised land records and the election Model Code of Conduct being in force, according to government officials involved in its implementation. The scheme, announced...

-The Indian Express At Rs 199 a day, the Central government-notified MGNREGA wage rate for Rajasthan is Rs 26 less than the state’s minimum wage. Banswara, Bhilwara, Jaipur, Udaipur (Rajasthan): For four years, Pista Sargara (55), a long-standing job card holder under the MGNREGA, approached her panchayat office in Bhilwara Lok Sabha constituency desperate for any work under the scheme. She was turned away each time. The turnaround came in January...

-The Hindu Business Line Horticulture farmers and wheat growers are the worst hit Ahmedabad: After a devastating hailstorm and unseasonal rains earlier this week in parts of Western India that damaged crops, farmers in Rajasthan and Gujarat are now pinning their hopes on the government assistance to make up for the losses. The worst hit are horticulture farmers and wheat growers, who were in the middle of the harvest season. According to estimates...