-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Supreme Court has expressed concern over growing human rights violations in Chhattisgarh, a Maoist hotbed, with the Centre and rights activists blaming each other for the state's volatile atmosphere. Journalists, lawyers and civil rights activists have reported being targeted and hounded out of Bastar district after being branded Maoist sympathisers. Tribal activist Soni Sori, who had protested against an alleged fake encounter, had her face burnt with...

-FirstPost.com We have no clear idea about how much ground water storage capacity currently exists in the country. Yes, that is true. At a time when at least 10 out of the 29 states in India have declared a drought and all eyes are on the monsoon rains to bring relief, it is interesting to see that India is the world's biggest user of ground water. Both in terms of quantity...

-Economic and Political Weekly Budget 2016-17 recognises that the rural economy is in crisis; however, it fails to address this with sufficient targeted rural spending. A perusal of budget documents reveals exaggerated expenditure claims, achieved through reclassification of budget heads. There has been an enduring neglect of agriculture, which is further exacerbated by this year's reduced subsidies for fertiliser and food. This will induce further vulnerabilities in the rural economy. Please...

-The Times of India AHMEDABAD: Vijay Rupani, state water resources minister has stated that eight districts and around 1,000 villages in the state are facing an acute water crisis. Rupani said, "Due to insufficient rains for the last two years, eight districts — Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Rajkot, Surendranagar, Dahod, Panchmahal and Amreli — are facing a drinking water shortage. Around 1,000 villages are in crisis due to drying up of local...

-Livemint.com The efforts of the government in revamping the crop insurance and land titling schemes are long-term solutions which will take time to bear results The agricultural sector is facing its worst moment in the last three decades. The last time India saw such distress caused by back-to-back deficient rains was during the drought of 1986-87 and 1987-88. The severity of the situation is evident from the stories of migration and...