-The Hindu   Despite having Dhamanguda minor irrigation project, they could not access water from it Adilabad (Andhra Pradesh): Politicians are not the popular lot among the poor Adivasi voters holding the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) job cards in Adilabad district. As they feel that political leaders are responsible for their present pitiable state of utter poverty. "It's been ten years since the Dhamanguda minor irrigation was built, but we...

-Live Mint   Rights laws offer an important lesson for the new government: you cannot legislate your way out of state failure It is well known that the Indian state suffers from a serious crisis of implementation capability. So deep is this crisis that it cannot even reliably perform the most routine tasks like moving money and getting employees to show up at work. So, it is hardly surprising that rights laws have...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Is corruption really an issue in elections? Some surveys claim that people worry more about the economy than corruption. Poll data for 2004 and 2009 general elections show that not only do political parties continue to repeatedly field candidates facing corruption charges, people even vote for them. Analysis of affidavits filed by Lok Sabha candidates shows that in 2004 general elections, a total of 12 candidates...

-The Hindustan Times Faridkot: Most farmers, who have been sowing wheat with zero-till or no-till drill, which helps them reduce expenses on diesel and labour besides saving time, water and gives them the same yield as the wheat sown after many ploughings, are satisfied with the experiment with the new technology over the years. But still, due to the traditional mindset, costly and nonavailability of new agriculture machinery, new techniques are not...

-The Hindu     The aim of the Unique Identification Number was to make access to bank accounts easier but the first Aadhaar card holder is still not eligible for loans In September 2010, Ranjana Sonawane became the first person in the country to get an Aadhaar card when the Unique Identity (UID) project was flagged off with much fanfare in Tembhli village in Maharashtra. But today, what is unmistakeable is the disappointment the tribal...