-Down to Earth New norms for declaring drought are too stringent to be practical and are indicative of Centre’s intention to pass on the financial burden to states Karnataka government has opposed Centre’s move to change parameters for drought assessment. The new manual for drought management limits Centre’s scope to offer financial assistance to states in the eventuality of drought. Unlike the 2009 manual for drought management—which was a mere guideline...

-VillageSquare.in Given the complex and varied situations in rural India, the results of the direct benefit transfer method are so far mixed at best and debilitating at worst, as seen in the subsidies for farm equipment and fertilizers Direct benefit transfer (DBT), a system through which government programs transfer funds directly to bank accounts of beneficiaries, is hailed as a major intervention that is expected to cut a whole lot of misdirection...

-IndiaTomorrow.net As a first step, SAMLA would run a nationwide movement with name of "Dalit, Minority, Tribal Lives Matter" New Delhi: In the wake of the growing culture of mob lynching and atrocities against religious minorities, Dalits and Tribals in the country, a group of lawyers on Tuesday launched a body to provide these communities with legal aid in order to get speedy justice. The body named as "South Asian Minorities Lawyers' Association"...

-The Telegraph. Lucknow: Around 5,500 of the nearly 8,000 panchayat chiefs in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand have resigned to protest an alleged reduction in the budget for rural development. The panchayat chiefs are also protesting the Trivendra Singh Rawat government's refusal to increase their monthly honorarium from Rs 750 to Rs 5,000. The panchayat chiefs have been agitating for the past three days. Girveer Parmar, the state president of the Uttarakhand Gram Pradhan Sangathan, said 5,500...

-Business Standard What is primarily required is political and administrative will for effective delivery of services Agantuk (The Stranger) was Satyajit Ray’s last film. The film revolves around the return of an old man, Manomohan Mitra, to India after 35 years. Manmohan had spent all his life with Adivasis from across the world and has a take on civilisation and progress that is at odds with the popular urban narrative of it....