-Down to Earth Since its launch in 2016, India’s flagship crop insurance scheme has seen a consistent fall in acreage and number of farmers covered Even if a single farmer’s crop is damaged in a village he will get the benefits of insurance  - Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said while launching the government’s flagship Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) from Madhya Pradesh in 2016. The words, however, mean nothing to the farmers...

-TheWire.in The Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan sent a legal notice to the Delhi government highlighting that midday meals in schools did not resume even though schools reopened for physical classes on February 14. New Delhi: The Delhi government has said that the doorstep delivery of dry ration kits will continue rather than hot cooked midday meals till 100% attendance is achieved in Delhi government schools after the Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar...

-Press statement by the National Coalition on the Education Emergency (NCEE) dated February 21, 2022 We note, with deep concern and anguish, the active prevention of muslim women from attending government schools and colleges, on the grounds that they wear the hijab, a headscarf. This move violates not just the fundamental rights of these women, including those of freedom (Article 19, 25) and equality (Article 14), but also their right to...

-ThePrint.in But the Guntur’s chillis’ got competition, 29 other districts in India chose chillis as their signature product too. Under the One District One Product Initiative, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh declared its famous chilli as its signature product, hoping to leverage resources to promote its produce globally – 29 other districts followed suit, each declaring chillies their unique, signature product and setting the stage for a nationwide chilli faceoff. This article, the first...

-The Hindu In his book on Bihar, M.R. Sharan provides a closely observed, scholarly, and empathetic account of the struggle to make constitutional promises a reality in rural India  M.R. Sharan’s splendid book brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. The scene is a public meeting at “Narega Chowk” in Ratnauli village, Muzaffarpur district of Bihar. Activists of Bihar Manrega Watch (BMW) are helping resolve grievances. An old woman...