-DNA Concerned about the increasing numbers of farmer suicides in Maharashtra's drought-hit areas, the Supreme Court on Thursday sought a response from the centre and state on a PIL seeking compensation of Rs 25,000 per hectare to the farmers whose crops have failed. The bench headed by chief justice of India H L Dattu sought their response on the PIL filed by Rakesh Uttamchandra Upadhyay, a lawyer, highlighting the plight of the...
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Farm Debt Curse Continues: NSSO
The agrarian crisis is far from over. Amidst news of farmers' suicide reported from parts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, an official document released in December by the National Sample Survey Organisation states that nearly 52% of India's agricultural households were indebted during July, 2012 - June, 2013. The average amount of outstanding loan per agricultural household in India was Rs. 47000 (see link below). Based on a survey of...
More »Solar power can be the game-changer for inclusive growth -Vikas Gupta
-The Indian Express With the positive intent and progressive action from the new government, the country is excited about entering a new era of growth & revolutionary transformation. This can happen faster and more effectively if the whole ecosystem is geared for it. And most important component of the ecosystem are the people, who are the primary beneficiaries as well as the key catalysts to stimulate this growth and transformation. Hence,...
More »Scheming against the poor -TK Rajalakshmi
-Frontline The Left and other national parties protest against the NDA government's attempts to dilute the MGNREGS by limiting its budget and reducing its reach. IN a rare show of solidarity, representatives of several political parties took issue with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on its controversial proposal to restructure the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The opposition, which was initially confined to the...
More »About men -Vani S Kulkarni, Manoj K Pandey & Raghav Gaiha
-The Indian Express Although the prevalence of sexual violence in India is the lowest in the world (8.5 per cent in 2013), it affects 27.5 million women in the country. Rapes reported to the police as sexual violence surged from 39 per day to 93 per day in 2013. In Uttar Pradesh alone, five rapes occurred in 36 hours. Even these are underestimations, for two reasons. One is the exclusion of...
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