-The Indian Express The flagship rural jobs programme has shown improved performance after initial neglect by the Modi government. New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government may spend close to Rs 60,000 crore on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the current fiscal, a record for the programme that was a baby of the previous United Progressive Alliance regime. The Union Budget had allocated Rs 38,500 crore towards MGNREGA for...

-Livemint.com International Fund for Agricultural Development calls on govts in the Asia-Pacific region to develop targeted policies and invest in promoting inclusive development of rural areas New Delhi: Inclusive rural transformation is essential to eliminate poverty and hunger and to build inclusive and sustainable societies, according to a report compiled by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The rural development report 2016, released in New Delhi on Monday, points out that policies,...

-IANS New Delhi: With current availability of water per person per year in India placed at roughly 1,745 cubic metres, experts have called for trans-boundary water governance to tackle the water-stressed situation and, keeping climate change in mind, creation of a water infrastructure. India in 2016 faced one of its worst droughts in decades which affected almost 330 million people. "As per studies conducted two years back, 1,745 cubic metre per person...

-Livemint.com Spoilage and pilferage are not something the country can afford given its low ranking in the hunger index The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently approved a proposal to restructure around Rs30,000 crore of food credit given to Punjab state agencies, allowing for the conversion of cash credit into a 20-year loan at a lower interest rate. The central bank also sanctioned a cash credit limit of Rs26,000 crore for this...

-Livemint.com We don’t know enough about the socio-economic status of different caste groups, and our political class doesn’t want us to know Over the past couple of years, one Indian state after another has been on the boil because of caste-based agitations. The latest state to be engulfed in caste conflict is Maharashtra, where a stir by the dominant caste of Marathas seems to have led other backward classes (OBCs) and...