-The Hindu Business Line The South Asian population has been growing at the rate of 1.5 per cent per annum, and agricultural production at 2.5 per cent per annum has been keeping pace with the demographic trends, thereby creating the necessary provision for food. Yet, the inherent problems of distribution have loomed large for South Asia. India's National Food Security Act, 2013, emphasises defining certain target groups and highlights the importance...

-The Hindu The chopping off of the palms of two migrant workers is a wake-up call The gruesome incident of the chopping off of the palms of two migrant labourers of Kalahandi district of western Odisha by the labour contractor mafia in December 2013 should serve as a wake-up call. The incident highlights the ruthless extent to which the mafia can go to meet its ends and brings home the fact that...

-World Resources Institute India struggles with water scarcity, a problem that poses especially huge implications for the country's food security and Rural Livelihoods. The country has long-battled its scarcity issues through Watershed Development, a participatory approach to improve water management through afforestation and reforestation, sustainable land management, soil and water conservation, water-harvesting infrastructure, and social interventions. But while watershed development has been employed in communities throughout India, its potential long-term costs...

-Outlook Bhubaneswar (Odisha): The Centre will work jointly with Odisha government to end the practice of bonded labour, Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh said. "I look forward to working with the state government to put an end to this horrendous social evil," he said in a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Centre would implement a special livelihood project started under National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) to mitigate the plight of...

-Economic and Political Weekly   While the transformation of rural gender inequalities was not an intended goal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, this study draws on evidence from two villages in western Tamil Nadu to show how the scheme has benefited rural women in particular. Major attractions of the MGNREGA work include local availability through the year, it being perceived as relatively "easy" work with fixed, regular, gender...