-The Diplomat   Climate change is stressing an already struggling farm sector, but there is a way forward. Over the last decade, India's official position in global climate negotiations has been one of opposition to agricultural mitigation. At Doha (COP18), India joined other developing countries in demanding that any talk about agriculture must be in the realm of adaptation, not mitigation. India considers the farm sector out of bounds with respect to emissions...

Samaj Pragati Sahayog (SPS) is one of India’s largest grass-roots initiatives for water and livelihood security, working with its partners on a million acres of land across 72 of India’s most backward districts, mainly in the central Indian Adivasi belt. SPS takes inspiration from the life and work of Baba Amte (our Pramukh Sahayogi) who rejected charity and successfully empowered even the most challenged. SPS is headquartered in a drought-prone,...

-The Hindu Business Line   Claims that the economic gap in India is being bridged are not borne out by NSS data Recent accounts of poverty reduction - especially during 2004-11- triggered by the release of the 68th round of the NSS data, have been euphoric. Growth acceleration not just resulted in more rapid poverty reduction over this period than during 1993-2004 but it was also more inclusive as the most disadvantaged groups,...

-IPS News   New Delhi: Bhure Lal, a 33-year-old street-food vendor, has been selling his spicy ‘chaat' outside the New Delhi Railway Station for 15 years. But despite a punishing 12-hour work schedule, and a new law to protect hawkers like him, he doesn't take home enough to feed his family. More than half of Lal's weekly income from the ‘chaat', a lip-smacking pot-pourri that is particularly popular with women, is extorted by...

-The Business Standard   Of the 46 projects, some have been scaled up after completion of pilot projects Chennai: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has supported 46 innovative projects, through its Nabard-SDC Rural Innovation Fund (RIF), as on February 2014. The fund was set up jointly with the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC). These projects were sponsored so as to create more jobs in the rural areas...