Farmers who grow the well-known Bhalia wheat variety in the southern Ahmedabad district are getting ready to resist plans for a chemical park in their premises — a project they had fended off 13 years ago. A public hearing for the Bhal Industrial Park, slated to house 500 chemical units among a total 712 units, will be held on Friday. Kantri Makwana, a farmer from Pishavada, a village which falls within a...

The Gujarat High Court has ordered the state government to submit the details of schemes, if any, to identify Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Mahila Mandals that can buy grains and prepare food for children and pregnant mothers attending the 48,000 aanganwadi centres in the state. The order follows a suo-motu petition that questioned the implementation of several Central schemes for the poor, including why the state government had roped in a...

Comprehensive review of resettlement sites vital: Medha Patkar Calling for a review of resettlement sites for the people affected by the Sardar Sarovar dam and of the irrigation project itself, Medha Patkar, leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) said, there were as many as 40,000 families still in the submergence area, waiting to be resettled. “Initially, the [Narmada Water Disputes] Tribunal, which gave the award, estimated the number of families affected...

A worried government has put on fast track the proposed bill to regulate micro-lenders, as it seeks to ensure that over-regulation by states does not kill the sector that is envisaged to play a big role in furthering financial inclusion. The finance ministry could move a bill in the winter session of Parliament that will make Nabard responsible for regulation of all non-profit microfinance institutions structured as trusts, cooperatives, or mutual...

In 1957, the Communist Party of Kerala became the first democratically elected communist government in Asia. While many in the West feared that this election would help communism spread across South Asia and make Kerala the "Yan'an of India", the Keralite communists' actions were checked by Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress party's control of the federal coffers. Instead, from within the political bounds of India's divided government, Kerala initiated what has...