-Firstpost.com New Delhi: A large section of farmers and agricultural labourers from various states across the country didn’t want to lose the opportunity of the ongoing monsoon session of the Parliament, to make their voices heard to the lawmakers of this nation. Amid sloganeering —“Ladenge, Jeetenge… Jai Kisan, Jai Kisan” (We’ll fight, we’ll win… Hail farmers!) — at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Monday, hundreds of farmers and leaders of various...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Now, lakhs of labourers working on construction sites can avail medical benefits under the labour ministry's Employee State Insurance (ESI) scheme. "The Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has approved extending benefits of the ESI scheme to workers deployed on construction sites from August 1, 2015," said an official. The decision is seen as a big step by the BJP government to extend social security coverage to a...

-Economic and Political Weekly The Indian weaver is dismissed in high places as an embarrassing anachronism, despite demand for his or her skills and products. In the new millennium, globalisation and a mindless acquiescence to imported notions of a good life threaten to take over, even as the West looks East for better concepts of sustainable living. Analysing today's crisis in the handloom sector, plagued by low-cost imitations from power looms,...

-Livemint.com The problem with the SECC is the absence of cross-tabulations showing the intersections between the seven deprivation sets The original intent of the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC), whose findings for rural India were made public in June, was to collect information on economic and caste identifiers for access to subsidized food under the National Food Security Act of 2013, and to define a priority set with higher access and...

-Livemint.com The money from the Union govt will be routed through the state employment guarantee fund window to the workers accounts New Delhi: In a bid to eliminate delays and corruption in the payment of wages to workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the Union cabinet on Wednesday approved the direct release of wages from the Centre to the workers. Workers will be assured of timely payment...