In the midst of national debates over the need for labour laws reforms and the efficacy of MG-NREGA in checking distress migration, a new report brings spotlight on the miserable living and working conditions of unorganized migrant workers from Rajasthan. Titled Their Own Country: A Profile of Labor Migration from Rajasthan, the report prepared jointly by Aajeevika Bureau and UNESCO informs us that 70% of seasonal migrant workers from Rajasthan...

-India Today Groundwater is being extracted in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan at a rate faster than it's replenished, according to the latest report of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB). The status of groundwater extraction - the proportion of water drawn out to annual recharge - in Delhi and the three states is more than 100 per cent. In Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Lakshwadeep, Pondicherry and Daman and Diu, the...

-The Business Standard Nilekani probably managed to save the project by a persuasive talk with Modi, but the concerns haven't gone away It is widely believed that Nandan Nilekani's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saved the ambitious Aadhaar project from oblivion or a takeover by the home ministry. Within a couple of days of the meeting, Modi gave directions to expedite enrolments through Aadhaar, along with the direct benefits transfer (DBT) project...

-The Guardian India cannot support an agreement that ignores food security when millions of its people go to bed hungry each night There is a view on global trade negotiations that has been propagated by a spate of commentaries and news analysis over the past few months. It runs broadly as follows: the multilateral trade regime had been limping to a slow death because of the failure of the Doha development round...

-The Hindu Business Line That could shift if the land acquisition law is changed The real action on economic policy is set to take place outside the Budget. A major move on the cards (which Rural Development Minister Nitin Gadkari sought to downplay late last week) is to amend the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act to reduce the cost of land for industry. Is...