-The Hindu Business Line Mumbai: Even as the Prime Minister has assured farmers of help in fighting massive locust attacks, the early arrival of the desert locust swarms has set off alarms bells in the agriculture scientist and entomologist community. The community had expected a smaller infestation in June and July, but the early arrival has the community worried about the kharif sowing. A senior scientist told BusinessLine that in a day,...

-The Telegraph What transparency? Website does not specify contributions, spending The Prime Minister’s Office has refused to provide copies of the trust deed of the PM CARES Fund, besides those of the government orders, notifications and circulars related to its creation, saying the fund is not a public authority and is therefore exempt from the Right to Information (RTI) Act. “PM CARES Fund is not a public authority under the ambit of Section...

-The Hindu Fund is not public authority, says reply The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has refused to disclose details on the creation and operation of the PM CARES Fund, telling a Right to Information applicant that the fund is “not a public authority” under the ambit of the RTI Act, 2005. The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund was set to accept donations and provide relief during...

-Livemint.com * A ground report reveals pervasive hunger and undernourishment in rural India awash with returning migrants * Just providing rice and wheat at a highly subsidized price may not be enough when day jobs are scant and families have no cash in hand BANDA: Thanks to an all-familiar power cut in the evening, it’s pitch dark in Jhandupurva village. A few torch lights from smart phones pierce through the darkness and illuminate...

-Hindustan Times Less than 57% of the people who sought work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) have received jobs under the programme. At a time when millions of migrant workers who have returned home to the hinterland are looking towards it for a livelihood, the government’s flagship rural jobs programme has got off to a slow start in the new financial year, government data show, amid the...