-Newsclick.in Till October 2019, over 2.5 crore applicant households were turned back when they sought work under the rural job guarantee scheme. It would have seemed natural – indeed, imperative – that, as India grapples with a deadly slowdown, with agricultural economy growing only at around 2% and rural joblessness hovering at a shocking 8%, the government would infuse some Energy in the implementation of the rural jobs guarantee scheme (MGNREGA). This...

-The Hindu Clean drinking water and sanitation are also important’ Deaths due to severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in India could be at least a tenth of what was earlier believed, which implies that instead of taking emergency measures such as providing Ready To Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), there needs to be a focus on non-food interventions such as sanitation, health, clean drinking water along with an emphasis on nutrition, suggests a new...

-Hindustan Times The scheme launched to give more subsidies to farmers will prefer women for benefits for gender mainstreaming in agriculture, said officials Jaipur: The Rajasthan government will focus on women farmers in a new subsidy scheme for livelihood improvement, said officials. The scheme launched to give more subsidies to farmers will prefer women for benefits for gender mainstreaming in agriculture, the officials added. The scheme will be run by the water resources department...

-India Today There is an expected 40 per cent gap in the global water supply, the 2.1 billion people who lack access to safe drinking water and the fact that water has ranked in the top five risks for eight consecutive years in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report. The global water crisis is not a new story. Every year, I review statistics which are becoming all too familiar: an expected...

-The Indian Express Consumers today are willing to pay for organic produce. What is required is a policy framework to enable farmers to cater to this market. A few months back, I was at an artisanal products exhibition, where there was a stall showcasing organic leather bags. A buyer marvelled: “Wow, we have organic leather too?” The stall-person’s response was, “Sir, this is from animals that were fed only natural grass...