-The Hindu Natural farmer Subhash Palekar says it has led to the destruction of environment and fall in productivity Andhra Pradesh: While the world praises Nobel laureate and father of the Green Revolution Norman Borlaug as the saviour of humanity, Subhash Palekar, zero-budget natural farmer, calls him a ‘fraud'. Mr. Palekar says that Green Revolution is not a revolution at all. ‘It has destroyed soil, water, air, environment, vegetation and finally human...

-The Pioneer Earlier, due to poor electricity supply in Jharkhand, farmers were unable to store vegetables, thereby incurring losses. Now, with the introduction of ‘desi fridges' that do not require external energy, they can get themselves a better deal, writes Aakriti Shrivastava Sanjay Singh, a smallholder farmer is market savvy. He claims to produce the best quality vegetables in his village, Madanpur, in Jharkhand. He sells his vegetables in a nearby...

-The Hindu The recently released draft National Health Policy 2015 highlights the "challenge" of population stabilisation in six of the 11 States. Following massive protests over the death of 13 women who underwent the sterilisation procedure of tubectomy in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh last November, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has written to all States reminding them that every person should be counselled about the different family planning options available....

-Business Standard Workdays under the scheme in 2014 crashed to less than half of previous year's, delay in fund transfers and payment to workers, says rural devt ministry report The former Union rural development minister Nitin Gadkari caused 'psychological' damage to the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGS) with statements questioning the need to continue the scheme across the entire country, the ministry has assessed in its new report. Gadkari was minister...

-Down to Earth The primary Health centre (PHC) at Ajara block in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district would handle just eight childbirth cases a year till 2011. Today, it handles over 125 such cases in a year. The Health centre became efficient because of a Central government scheme that empowers communities to monitor public Health services. In 2010, the residents participated in a jan sunwai (public hearing) session, in which they told senior...