-Press Release by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) dated 25 March, 2019 The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) commissioned perhaps the largest ever Voter Survey in any country. The survey was conducted between October 2018 and December 2018, prior to the General Elections to the Lok Sabha 2019. It covered 534 Lok Sabha constituencies with 2,73,487 voters participating in this exercise spread among various demographics. The three main objectives of...

-Hindustan Times Hasdeo Arand is one of the largest contiguous stretches of very dense forest in central India, spanning about 170,000 hectares. The Union environment ministry has given environmental clearance for open cast coal mining in Parsa in Chhattisgarh’s dense Hasdeo Arand forests, in a decision that could have far-reaching consequences for forest cover conservation in India. Hasdeo Arand is one of the largest contiguous stretches of very dense forest in central India,...

-The Hindu Jaipur: The Congress government in Rajasthan has accused the Centre of adopting a “discriminatory attitude” towards the State’s farmers, reflected in the lower targets set for procurement of mustard and gram on minimum support prices in comparison with the national average. A ceiling of 25-quintal purchase on a day has been set for the farmers. State Cooperative Minister Udai Lal Anjana has taken up the matter with Union Agriculture Minister Radha...

-PTI New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday regretted that non-BJP ruled States, including West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, have not certified even a single farmer for transfer of the first instalment of Rs.2,000 under the PM-KISAN scheme. In the interim Budget 2019-20, the Central government had announced the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme under which Rs.6,000 per year will be given in three instalments to 12 crore small...

-The Hindu Business Line The demographic divergence between regions within the country must be seen as an opportunity for growth There is a clear demographic divergence between north-central and south-western regions; one is a young hinterland with vast labour force and the other ones are ageing with decreasing working age population. Most of the current and future demographic potential is locked in the north-central States, and largely located in Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya...