-The Telegraph Bhubaneswar: Swachh Bharat as a slogan sounds smart, but rampant corruption at the grassroots level is coming in the way of implementing development projects such as constructing toilets in the state. Public sector units executing toilet projects under the Swachh Bharat Swachha Vidayalay Abhiyan are being forced to deal with villagers and sarpanches who want money before the first brick is laid. Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) is one of...
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India’s rural crisis, slowed farm growth may hurt 7.5% GDP dream -Zia Haq and Gaurav Choudhury
-Hindustan Times When Prime Minister Narendra Modi met some prominent billionaires last month, seeking quicker job-creation and investments, many industrialists complained that falling rural demand for goods was rocking their boats too. Incomes of India’s 833 million mostly poor rural population – a huge market for all kinds of goods – are barely rising and it is a cause for worry. Farming contributes just 15% of India’s $2 trillion economy, but half...
More »Swachh Bharat: plan to produce power, compost from solid waste -Mehboob Jeelani
-The Hindu On the first anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission, the Urban Development Ministry on Thursday announced some crucial policy changes. On the first anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission, the Urban Development Ministry on Thursday announced some crucial policy changes since it is planning to generate electricity and compost from municipal solid waste. “Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers will soon bring a proposal before Cabinet to provide Market Development Assistance on sale of...
More »Gurgaon shows the way: Car-free Tuesdays to control manic traffic -Sharad Kohli
-The Times of India GURGAON: On Tuesday, Gurgaon put the brakes on cars, and accelerated into the future. It was the first instalment of the Car Free Day that the city will now observe every Tuesday starting next month. On day one itself, there were 10,000 fewer cars on the city's roads. The air, too, was much more breathable. Levels of PM 2.5 - fine pollutants emitted by vehicles - were 21...
More »Subverting the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 -Santosh Verma
-Economic and Political Weekly After coming to power in 2014, the National Democratic Alliance government took several measures to dilute the pro-poor provisions of the Land Acquisition Act of 2013. Though it has backed down, several questions remain over the way the Modi government has dealt with the issue of land acquisition. Santosh Verma (santosh.econ@gmail.com) is at the Council for Social Development, New Delhi. Land acquisition—by private corporations or the state—has raised vital...
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