-The Hindu People migrating due to environmental disasters should be accorded ‘refugee’ status in international law An increasing number of people globally are facing displacement due to droughts, famines, rising sea levels and other natural disasters caused by climate change. This class of migrants has been labelled as ‘environmental refugees’ in popular literature. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, an international body reviewing trends of internal displacement, an estimated 24 million...

-The Hindu Business Line Rabi sowing down; sales of tractors and two-wheelers dip Mumbai: The demonetisation of high-value currency notes seems to have crushed the tender green shoots of economic recovery in rural India by choking off life-sustaining money supply and impeding the wheels of commerce from spinning. From FMCG firms to two-wheelers to tractor makers, companies had been looking forward to an increase in rural demand in the wake of an adequate...

-The Hindu Business Line Acreage, however, a tad lower than last five years’ average New Delhi: Despite demonetisation leading to a cash crunch in the economy, the sowing of Rabi crops in the season so far, at 415.53 lakh hectares, was 8.5 per cent greater than the 382.84 lakh hectares sown in the same period last year. While acreage under wheat, pulses and oilseeds increased compared to the same period last year, rice...

-The Hindu After probe revealed a sudden surge in such deposits revealing various inconsistencies Account holders once again urged by Central Board of Direct Taxes not to consent to any kind of misuse of their accounts which would expose them to the dangers of being held responsible for the tax evasion by unscrupulous elements. Investigation being conducted by the Income Tax Department across India into the sudden surge in cash deposits in jan...

-The Hindu Business Line SHGs pave the road to financial independence in UP villages Three years ago, Simrikha Devi’s eightyear-old son made an unusual request. He asked for hundred rupees to buy biscuits,knowing well that his mother, a daily wager, would have to scrounge for the money. Although she was taken aback, Simrikha gave him the money. Her curiosity grew further when he returned with a bag of biscuit packets and began hawking...