A company that has 1,600 farmers families as shareholders - report of Savvy Soumya Mishra from Raipur This summer if you use a prickly heat powder manufactured by Emami think of Agricon Agropreneurs Limited. The Raipur-based public limited company supplies mentha, a common ingredient in many beauty products, to the cosmetic major. Set up two years ago, Agricon has given farmers much-needed clout in their dealings with cosmetic companies.

The Planning Commission wants to douse this 'spreading bushfire of rural discontent' -Neha Sakhuja and Savvy Soumya Mishra Land alienation, poverty amongst scheduled tribes and dalits and lack of access to basic forest resources have contributed to the growth of naxalism, says the Planning Commission. Its report, Development challenges in extremist affected areas, indicts Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh. The report also critiques SEZs and the complete failure of instruments like the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 and the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.

the International Day of World Indigenous People was observed on August 9. It was observed to support the demands of tribals for the urgent implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and other