-The Hindu     Representatives of more than 100 farmers' organisations release a charter of demands Although the time for freebies is over as Lok Sabha elections have been announced and the model code of conduct is in place, more than 20 lakh farmers across the country have sought assurance from political parties for a minimum income security for agriculture households. The income guarantee must reflect "inter-sectoral parity" which should match the salary of a...

-Press Note (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) There have been reports in the Media that private hospitals on the panel of CGHS are denying credit facilities to the eligible CGHS beneficiaries for delay in settlement of hospitals bills. Lower package rates and inadmissible deductions etc. have also been reported to be the other reasons for withdrawal of agreed cashless /credit facilities. In this regard, the CGHS beneficiaries are advised not to...

-The Hindu Funds from Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan are pumped into ‘schools' in Bastar that don't exist On the day the Chhattisgarh government issued a statement emphasising how the Prime Minister's adviser, T.K.A. Nair, praised the efforts to educate children, 32 students of Koynapada primary school in Darbha block in Bastar district did not attend school. In fact, they could not as the school does not exist. An official confirmed that the disappearance...

-The Hindu     Nearly three years after the government began experimenting with Aadhaar-based payments in Jharkhand, it has not been able to start disbursing payments to beneficiaries at their doorstep Jharkhand was one of five pilot States chosen for an Aadhaar-enabled payment system (AEPS). Beginning with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) payments in select blocks in four districts in 2012, AEPS added pension and scholarship schemes and the Janani Suraksha...

-The Hindu There is a general view that agriculture is not a remunerative profession. But for those who continue to do farming, there seems to be no choice. Either they leave the fields fallow or sell the lands for quick money. "Reasons for being unremunerative are many like high cost of inputs, inability to break even in profit, marketing etc. But in spite of all these problems there are people like...