-The Hindu India has a lasting infrastructure of public support that can, in principle, be expanded in drought years to provide relief. But business as usual seems to be the motto Droughts in India used to be times of frantic relief activity. Large-scale public works were organised, often employing more than 1,00,000 workers in a single district. Food distribution was arranged for destitute persons who were unable to work. Arrangements were also...

-The Hindu The survey reveals that 90 per cent of the litigants earn less than Rs. 3 lakh per annum and the median expected cost of litigation for this group is around Rs. 16,000. Most of the litigants in the country earn less than Rs. 3 lakh a year, says a new survey by the Bengaluru-based civil society organisation DAKSH. The nationwide “Access to Justice” survey was conducted across 305 locations in 24...

-The Hindu A systematic attempt is being made in several West Bengal districts to evict sharecroppers from land, despite the legal protection West Medinipur: At Jamirarah village, Srikanta Hansda points to two double-storey houses in the shadow of which his home — a rough mud dwelling with an asbestos clerestory roof — squats: “Those are the homes of the Ghosh family. They own Annapurna Bhandar, a well-known grocery store in Medinipur city...

-The Hindu In the area of intellectual property, public health and access to medicines, the Narendra Modi government should consider its independence to be of the utmost importance. Strong government leadership as well as flexible intellectual property systems are needed in order to effectively combat drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) and HIV and also antimicrobial resistance and non-communicable diseases. This is true not only for India but also countries which rely on affordable generic...

-The Indian Express The MGNREGA was inspired by the Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Act, passed in 1977, wherein policymakers found wage employment as the best way to empower people against drought As India faces the onslaught of another severe drought, and water, food, and employment dry up, the government will claim that it is doing its best to cope with the adversity. But, given the facts, that will be a patently false...