- Scroll.in India prohibited manual scavenging in 1993. But it took another 20 years to expand its legal definition to include the manual cleaning of drains, sewers and septic tanks. Mumbai, with the richest municipal corporation in India, was among the worst offenders when it came to the implementation of the 2013 law. Records maintained by the Safai Karamchari Andolan, a national organisation working for the rights of sanitation workers, show 19...

-The Hindu The year 2023 has been declared as the ‘International Year of Millet’ by the United Nations following India’s proposal. Why is India pushing the world to BRIng these nutri-cereals back to the dining table? The story so far: The Centre on Sunday kicked off the International Year of Millets, announcing a host of activities across the country to promote the cultivation and consumption of the ‘nutri-cereal’. Central ministries, State governments...

-TheConversation.com/TheWire.in With the cost-of-living crisis now at the top of the public’s agenda in many developed countries, the setting of interest rates has ceased to be just a technical matter and has instead become highly political. Where is the global economy heading in 2023? After all the challenges of last year, it’s a question we ask with trepidation. Just as the economy was dealing with the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,...

-IndiaSpend.com Bajra, jowar and ragi – millets usually consumed in India – have almost four times the iron contained in brown rice, and three times the folic acid per serving. The year 2023 was declared as the International Year of Millets by the United Nations General Assembly. #IYOM2023, as the Food and Agriculture Organization calls it, will be an opportunity to raise awareness about the nutritional benefits of millets and its suitability...

-Down to Earth The central government has mandated digitally capturing the attendance of all workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGnregs). Labourers and activist groups have opposed this and pointed out several loopholes in the move. The National Mobile Monitoring System, which came into effect on January 1, 2023, was launched with claims of BRInging transparency and eliminating corruption at the ground level. Pilot tests began in May 2021 at...