-The Indian Express Delhi metro’s fare increase prices out the poor. Those arguing against offering subsidies ignore the multiplier effect of an affordable mass transit system. The most enduring image I have of the Delhi metro is that of a shared ride with a construction worker. His shoes and clothes, turned a uniform grey by dirt, told the story of a hard day’s work spent on a construction site. A comfortable ride...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: India will need to quintuple its investments on tuberculosis control over the next five years for a "substantial impact", says a World Health Organisation report released on Monday. The report says that India will need to invest at least $3.4 billion (Rs 22,000 crore), or nearly five times the Rs 4,500 crore spent over the past five years. The estimated requirement translates into an annual spending of about...

-Down to Earth Even after an order by the Supreme Court, the government has not released the payments The flagship scheme for rural employment generation, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), is facing severe fund crunch this year, resulting in unpaid dues of Rs 3,066 crore in wage payments in 19 states. Around 87 per cent of the scheme’s budget for this year has already by exhausted. A civil...

-The Hindu Business Line The Karnataka government’s efforts to popularise millet cultivation seem to be yielding results, thanks to a rising consumer demand based on awareness about healthy alternatives. Krishna Byre Gowda, Karnataka’s Agriculture Minister, cited drought, climate change and erratic monsoon as the driving factors for popularising millets such as ragi, jowar and bajra. These are less water-intensive crops compared to paddy or sugarcane and a shift to millet cultivation will help...

-TheWire.in While illegal mining is worrying, what is little understood is the enormous loot that is taking place legally. Mineral owners sometimes receive less than 5% of the value of minerals. The three iron ore scams in Karnataka, Goa and Odisha have some things in common. There were widespread and diverse breaches of the constitution, laws, rules and regulations. The environment was badly damaged. The minerals were being exhausted. Enormous corruption was...