-Economic and Political Weekly   The emphasis on use of digital technologies to bridge the "rural-urban gap" in the union budget is limited to high talk and minimal allocations. The need for a more comprehensive and peoples' participation-oriented rural action plan should have been the focus while setting sectoral allocations, but that is not to be in this mid-year budget. Vipul Mudgal (vipulmudgal@gmail.com) heads the Inclusive Media for Change project at the Centre...

-The Telegraph Tura: The Meghalaya government is working out modalities to declare horticulture and agriculture yields as "organic certified". Farmers are being encouraged in organic production and the government is assisting in the certification process. Director of the horticulture department Daniel Ingty told The Telegraph, "Nearly 90 per cent farms in Meghalaya are organic by tradition. However, these are yet to be certified. The government has embarked an ambitious programme on mission organic...

-Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Women and Child Development The Government has approved construction of 2 lakh Anganwadi Centre Buildings during the 12th Plan under the programme of ‘Reconstructing and Restructuring ICDS'. The phasing of construction is given below:-  2012-13 2013-14 2014-15  2015-16 2016-17 2017-18  0  20000  50000  60000  70000  200000 The Units will be constructed at the rate of Rs. 4.5 lakhs per unit in the cost sharing ratio of 75:25 between Centre and States against the North Eastern Region...

-Deccan Herald The National Crime Records Bureau's data for 2013 is out, and farm suicides are pegged at 11,772 -- not very different from the earlier years.Many activists point out how these figures are in fact under-reported. In a country where the cultivators' numbers are plummeting drastically as the Census 2011 data shows, this unabated trend of farm suicides is something that any government should take note of. The central aspect to this...

-Down to Earth Jaitley continues with UPA schemes on agriculture, allocates more funds The maiden budget of finance minister Arun Jaitley is disappointing for farmers as it has nothing in its kitty to address the increasing farm stress and resolve the ongoing agrarian crisis in the country. The much-awaited budget of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) neither talks about assured farm income nor gives any remedy to reduce farm...