In the hue and cry over minimum wages under NREGS, battle lines have been drawn between those who favour central government hiking minimum wage rates to the state minimum, and others asserting that the two must be delinked. While the former invoke 'a right to livelihood', the latter point to the NREGS being 'the employer of the last resort and the imperative of better targeting'. While these views have some merit,...

Issues related to transportation of food grains persist in the 293 PDS outlets The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra government to appoint a nodal officer by May 31 in the Melghat region to coordinate the work of nine departments which, apart from the public distribution system (PDS), are engaged in tribal development and child welfare. This post, meant for an IAS officer, had been lying vacant for more than two...

The Right to Information Act (RTI Act), barring certain exceptions, can be used to get information about decisions taken by public authorities, details of public expenditure, status of projects and many other administrative issues. RTI is also used as an effective tool to prevent corruption, and hence, it is essential that citizens use this Act regularly to keep a check on public authorities. In order to get accurate responses, citizens are...

-Guardian   A budding interest in organic food offers farmers soaring incomes and higher yields, but critics say it's not the answer to India's fast-rising food demands India's struggling farmers are starting to profit from a budding interest in organic living. Not only are the incomes of organic farmers soaring – by 30% to 200%, according to organic experts – but their yields are rising as the pesticide-poisoned land is repaired through natural...

Over a dozen students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences today boycotted their annual convocation while others handed badges that read “No to Nuclear Energy” to chief guest Jairam Ramesh in protest against the Jaitapur power project. A group of 22 students, who had visited the seven villages in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district that will be affected by the 9,900MW nuclear plant, also presented the environment minister with a fact file...