-The Hindu Doctors’ objections to prescribing medicines by generic names fly in the face of a recent report on substandard drugs In a surprise move on April 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his government will soon make it mandatory for doctors to prescribe medicines by generic names. The decision was to ensure drug prices remain affordable and patients get a wider bouquet of options instead of being forced to...

-Business Standard The programme will cover both water-scarce and flood-affected areas in India Ahmedabad: Ahead of the monsoon, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) will be reaching out to 100,000 villages with its water conservation programme. The Nabard will be working with villagers on better use of water for agriculture and household purposes.   Amid a drought-like situation in several areas, the Nabard targets to help farmers extend water availability and...

-Livemint.com Abject poverty, high levels of debt, and crop failures among the leading causes behind farmer suicides, according to a study commissioned by agriculture ministry New Delhi: Abject poverty, high levels of indebtedness, crop failures and pressure to repay loans are among the leading causes behind farmer suicides, according to the preliminary findings of a study commissioned by the Union agriculture ministry. The broad findings of the study conducted by the Institute for...

-HuffingtonPost.com A safety net for the poorest and most vulnerable populations. Recently there has been a lot of debate in academic and policy circles about mainstreaming climate concerns in development programs in order to build the resilience of vulnerable communities. One such development initiative is the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), whose main objective is to reduce rural poverty by providing a legal guarantee of 100 days' paid labour...

-The Hindu Business Line Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised one crore jobs during the 2014 elections. At the present rate of job creation, this will take 30 years. Muthukumar K and Seetharaman R report on the employment crisis Raj Abraham (name changed on request), a first-year student at a leading management institute in Chennai, is a bit anxious these days. Ask him how his seniors are faring in campus placement and the...