-The Hindu The chopping off of the palms of two migrant workers is a wake-up call The gruesome incident of the chopping off of the palms of two migrant labourers of Kalahandi district of western Odisha by the labour contractor mafia in December 2013 should serve as a wake-up call. The incident highlights the ruthless extent to which the mafia can go to meet its ends and brings home the fact that...

-Live Mint The Indian state has done little to provide preventive public health services New data released by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) have once again underlined the abysmal state of sanitation in the country, particularly in Rural India where two-thirds of the country lives. Only 32% of rural households have their own toilets, according to the recently released results of a large-scale survey conducted by NSSO in 2012. An additional...

-The Indian Express Agricultural GDP is underestimated due to inaccurate non-cereal data. It started with a mundane question: what is the chicken population in India? There are glaring inconsistencies in the available data. The National Sample Survey Organisation's (NSSO's) surveys show a 20 per cent annual growth of chicken consumption between 2005 and 2010. But according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the production of chicken meat only rose 10 per...

-DNA Union minister for rural development Jairam Ramesh said on Wednesday that within one year amendments will be made to 13 central government laws for the effective implementation of new land acquisition law which came into effect from January 1. "From now onwards no land will be acquired or purchased on the basis of 1894 Act in which government was the sole decider and farmer did not have any say," said Jairam...

-The Indian Express With just weeks before the Vote on Account to be tabled in Parliament the expenditure numbers of the government are looking challenging. The fiscal deficit has already touched 94 per cent of the full year target of Rs 5,42,499 crore between April- November 2013 and while the sluggish pace of revenue receipts is evident, movements in expenditure needs to be assessed carefully. Total expenditure has crossed Rs 10,00,000 crore mark...