-DNA The situation of hunger has now resulted in several starvation deaths. In the last six months, 65 workers have died, with 21 dead in Birpara tea estate, 16 in Hantapara, 15 in Dhumchipara, 7 in Gargandya and 6 in Nageswari. At about 3 pm on September 15 early this year, Rajman Lohar passed away in his modest home in Hantapara. A permanent worker at the Hantapara Tea Estate, owned by the...

-Business Standard Looking at economics behind agricultural households, a survey notes that 68.3% of such households still relied on agriculture as primary source of income Rural distress is a known story but a survey by NSSO has revealed the alarming level of fragmentation in farmland and unavailability of jobs. As many as 69 per cent agricultural households own less than a hectare of farmland each, making farming unviable and forcing migration to...

In a recent Gazette notification, the Government of India has removed the controversial provisions made in the PDS Control Order that was issued in March, 2015. This means that no more there will be a ceiling placed on the number of Antyodaya cards issued by any state.   The earlier order, which was issued by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution on 20 March, 2015, says that "when...

-Livemint.com In 1986, Italian journalist Carlo Petrini was outraged when McDonald’s opened its first outlet in Rome. He saw this as a threat to Italy’s culinary culture. He led a protest against the global industrialization of food, which culminated in the slow food movement. Starting in Rome, the movement is now a worldwide phenomenon. Edited excerpts from an interview at the Indigenous Terra Madre in Shillong: * What are the key achievements...

-Livemint.com Bano Haralu saves and protects Amur falcons in Nagaland As you read this, one of nature’s greatest spectacles is unfolding in the breathtakingly beautiful North-Eastern state of Nagaland. Thousands of Amur falcons, small birds of prey, are congregating at the Doyang reservoir in Wokha district, having flown thousands of kilometres from Siberia. This is their annual stop at the reservoir; they rest and roost there before flying off to their...