-Frontline The new crop insurance scheme introduced by the NDA government in an election year does not provide for a comprehensive coverage of all crops, against all forms of damage and at all stages of the crop cycle. IN AN election year, it is but natural that incumbent governments will introduce welfare policies and schemes. But the problem is that distribution of such largesse in a neoliberal dispensation can only be...
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One-third of West Bengal kids stunted & underweight, says NFHS-4
A French journalist once wrote: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past. At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than...
More »Where hope wins over poverty -Sudhir Kumar Mishra
-The Telegraph Gaijara (Bundu): There is no approach road to this village of 200 families. Some electricity poles were erected around one and a half years ago, but electrification work remained abandoned. All three hand pumps are defunct since long. The one on the primary school premises is also non-functional. For drinking water, a nearby waterfall is the only option. The nearest health centre at Taimara village is around 8km away. Although...
More »Bihar exit poll debacle: Elections have become a media carnival -Siddharth Bhatia
-The Hindustan Times The stereotype of a reporter landing in a new city and then getting political insights from the taxi driver on the way from the airport is not without merit. For a visitor, the first encounter is with the cabbie, and cabbies, as assumed, have not just local knowledge, but much wisdom too. A cabbie’s views often get extrapolated and incorporated into much of the reporting. As true as this...
More »Fixing rural distress: A challenge for both Nitish and Modi -Sayantan Bera
-Livemint.com As many as 23 out of 38 districts have received deficit rain ranging 20-60% of the normal; overall, the 2015 Jun-Sep monsoon recorded a 28% deficit Nitish Kumar, who will take oath as chief minister of Bihar for the third consecutive time, will face a daunting task as he tries to tackle rural distress in the state that has been hit by a drought. The issue had found little mention in the...
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