-Reuters   The number of maids has surged by close to 70% from 2001 to 2010, says the ILO New Delhi: Millions of maids working in middle class Indian homes are part of up an informal and "invisible" workforce where they are abused and exploited due to a lack of legislation to protect them, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Wednesday. Economic reforms that began in the early 1990s have transformed the...

-The Hindu With the era of cheap, bountiful water having been replaced by increasing supply-and-quality constraints, many international investors are beginning to view water as the new oil There is a popular, tongue-in-cheek saying in America - attributed to the writer Mark Twain, who lived through the early phase of the California Water Wars - that "whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting over." It highlights the consequences, even if...

-The Financial Express Unless we get it right on the markets front, including opening up of exports, farmers cannot get their full due One of the key objectives of agricultural price policy in India is to ensure that agriculture remains a remunerative occupation so that farmers are incentivised to adopt modern technologies that help raise productivity and overall production of various crops in the country broadly in line with the emerging demand...

-The Indian Express AAP's 700 litres will create challenges in sewage treatment and groundwater replenishment New Delhi: Twenty four hours after he came to power, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was to resolve the issue of giving the citizens of Delhi free water up to 700 litres per day. Water holds pride of place on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) manifesto, which says that the party is "committed to ensuring that...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: It is well known that quality of life greatly varies amongst different states within India. Some states have greater industrial or agricultural output, higher income levels, better educational and health indicators while others are still struggling with backwardness. But what is much less known is that within states too there are wide and astonishing variations. State level averages often hide huge and unconscionable disparity on...