-The Hindu The decision was taken during a tripartite meeting at Kolkata’s New SECretariat Building where representatives of the workers’ union and planters’ association met Labour Minister Moloy Ghatak. Kolkata: The West Bengal government and the Tea Planters’ Association of Darjeeling hills on Friday agreed to the demand of tea garden workers across 87 gardens in the Darjeeling hills for a 20% bonus. The decision was taken during a tripartite meeting at...

-Press release by Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) dated 6 October, 2019 Farmers’ movements are inviting all citizens, social organisations and people’s movements of India to hold protests all over the country on the 24th of October 2019, against the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Free Trade Agreement. The Indian government is negotiating RCEP with 15 other countries including ASEAN countries along with large industrial economies like China, Japan, South...

-The Telegraph Dalits account for over a third of the homeless New Delhi: Three in five homeless people surveyed across 15 Indian cities have said they were born in the city they now live in, a situation implying families trapped in destitution down the generations. A strong caste link too has emerged, with Dalits accounting for over a third of the homeless, double their share of India’s population. The European Union-funded study by the...

-The Hindu Business Line The death of two children killed for relieving themselves in public just days before India was declared ‘open defecation free’ by the Prime Minister highlights the chasm between targets and solutions India was declared ‘open defecation free’ on October 2, Mahatma Gandhi’s 150-year birth anniversary. A target-oriented sanitation drive, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) was a signature programme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first term in office. Rapid...

-The Hindu Business Line Kochi: Kerala betel leaf farmers are pinning hopes on the Geographical Indication status received for Tirur Vettila, the unique betel leaf variety from Malappuram district of the State, as the tag is likely to enhance its marketability in Asian markets. Pakistan was a major market for Tirur Vettila till 2016, when the government imposed restrictions by levying additional duties on the merchandise trade between the two countries following...