-The Indian Express Farmers' groups point to lack of marketing support, MSAMB blames internal shortcomings. Pune: Almost two years after the state government introduced the concept of direct selling of fruits and vegetables by farmers' groups, lack of awareness drives and internal shortcomings seem to have impeded its success. At present, 68 farmers' groups are directly selling their products at 226 locations in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The initiative to allow farmers to directly...
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The Idyll-Maker Who Built Timbaktu -Swati Sharma
-The New Indian Express Back in 1989, the area near Chennakothapalli village of Anantapur (the second driest area in India) in Andhra Pradesh was a wasteland. Till C K Ganguly (Bablu) and Mary Vattamattam chanced upon it in 1991 and saw its immense potential to blossom into a green paradise. The couple, along with friend John D'Souza, then bought 32 acres of this barren land. Inspired by Japanese author Masanobu Fufuoka's seminal...
More »The battle for toilets and minds -Rukmini S
-The Hindu The official sanitation policy has been uniquely focussed on building toilets. But the connection between good health and using toilets has not yet been made When the road in front of his house is finally laid, in Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, Ramesh Kumar hopes he will get permission to set up a small shop in a corner of his compound. Another corner will have a temple, as his father wants. To...
More »Going to toilet in Katra Sadatganj -Pritha Chatterjee
-The Indian Express Every time they step out, say the women of the village, it is with the fear of being teased, the shame of being seen, and the discomfort of counting hours. The two girls in Badaun who were raped and killed had left home to go to the fields to relieve themselves. Every time they step out, say the women of the village, it is with the fear of being...
More »NDA govt to have its stamp on MGNREGA soon -Brajesh Kumar
-The Hindustan Times The national rural employment guarantee in a new format will have more funds for asset creation, penalty for late disbursal of funds by the Centre and removing the five-km Restriction for seeking work. Working on inputs from state governments, the Centre would be revamping the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) with an aim to create productive assets. Government officials said that some of the likely changes...
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