-The Hindu A Rajasthan village is free of open defecation — on paper Behnara (Bharatpur District): The narrow village street is lined with gutters, dotted with excreta flushed out from latrines inside upper caste homes. Santa Devi pulls a corner of her sari over her mouth and begins to push the morning quota of waste into her metal basin using only a makeshift shovel and broom. Once she has thrown the...

-The Economic Times Agricultural engineer Vilas Shinde has reaped a rich harvest. Sahyadri Farms, the farmer producer company (FPC) set up by him in 2011, has grown to become the largest FPC in the country, with a membership of 8,000 farmers and a turnover of Rs 300 crore. It has overtaken Mahindra Agribusiness to become India’s largest grape exporting company, and many say it may well be on course to revolutionise...

-Down to Earth Throughout ages, many rituals have been associated with millet cultivation and women are to be thanked for this As millets make a comeback to our fields and plates, the formal launch of an extensive campaign beginning from Pune to promote these nutri cereals assumes great significance. According to B Dayakar Rao, principal scientist at the Indian Institute of Millets Research, "The Pune event is basically an extension of the National Millet...

-The Tribune Mumbai: Parts of Maharashtra are facing drought-like situation due to scanty rainfall in around 18 districts of the state, according to state government officials. All the affected districts lie in the politically sensitive Marathwada and Vidarbha regions and the Devendra Fadnavis government is coming under pressure to undertake drought-relief work right away. There is a major shortage of drinking water across Marathwada and people are dependent on tankers even for their...

-The Hindu Study: divergence between growth and jobs has risen With higher growth rates not having translated into more jobs and increases in productivity failing to spur a commensurate rise in wages, the government ought to formulate a National Employment Policy that takes these trends into account, the State of Working India 2018, a new study released by Azim Premji University’s Centre for Sustainable Employment, recommends. Confirming the spectre of jobless growth, the...