-Outlook A controversy has arisen over directions to school teachers in certain Bihar districts to dissuade people from defecating in the open and click pictures of those who refused to pay heed. Orders issued by block education officers asked teachers to do rounds in various wards and panchayat areas in the mornings and evenings and ask people to use toilets. They were also directed to click photographs to shame those who insisted on...

-The Indian Express In Jharkhand, ABBA was first made compulsory for PDS users in Ranchi district in August 2016. By June 2017, it was mandatory in about 80 per cent of the ration shops across the state. This meant, of course, that Aadhaar itself was compulsory — no Aadhaar, no food. Recent events in Jharkhand shed some useful light on the damage done by compulsory biometric authentication in the Public Distribution...

-IANS UDAIPUR: Farming has rarely been a viable proposition in Rajasthan's dry and hilly Udaipur region. A new way has now been found to provide sustainable sustenance for the area's tribals by enabling them to sell -- for a staggering Rs 189 crore ($29 million) in the last two years -- minor forest produce (MFP) that is abundant in the area and has remained unutilised for almost nine decades. According to officials,...

-IANS New Delhi: Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav on Monday demanded that the central government waive loans of all farmers across states, addressing a farmers' rally in the national capital. "We have two demands, one that the remunerative prices should be production cost plus 50 percent, which was recommended by the Swaminathan Commission and promised by Narendra Modi," Yadav said. "And SECond demand is a one-time waiver of all agricultural loans. Most steps...

-PTI NEW DELHI: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said on Monday that Aadhaar data is completely safe and SECure. Aadhaar number, it said, is not a SECret number and it is to be shared with authorised agencies if one wishes to avail a certain service or benefit of government welfare schemes or other services. "Aadhaar data is fully safe and SECure and there has been no data leak or breach at...