All you need to know about NABARD's 'agriculture household' survey

A recent survey by NABARD on financial inclusion in rural India has thrown some interesting insights into how the country’s rural landscape is changing and how things have moved forward since the last large-scale sample survey done by NSSO in 2012-13.

The NABARD survey had a sample size of around 40,327 rural households that were selected through a multi-stage stratified random sampling from 29 states, 245 districts and 2016 villages.

Rural areas were defined as those having a population of less than 50,000 (Tier-111 and Tier—IV) in tune with NABARD’s mandated jurisdiction.

The tier—III and tier—IV classification was based on RBI’s notification.

The sample size of the 66th round of NSSO survey was around 36,000. The NSSO survey was done from June 2012-July 2013.

The NABARD survey was clearly based on a wider sample and covered number of respondents.

Espionage case: Ex-diplomat Madhuri Gupta convicted of spying for Pak's ISI

Former diplomat Madhuri Gupta, who had served at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, was on Saturday sentenced to three years in jail for passing on sensitive information to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), with a Delhi court saying her actions caused a "severe security threat".

Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma gave her the maximum sentence for the offences of spying and wrongful communication of information protected under the law, observing that an educated woman like her did not deserve any leniency.

Sixty-one-year-old Gupta, who was the Second Secretary (Press & Information) at the high commission from 2007 till her arrest on April 22, 2010, during a visit here, was held guilty yesterday under various provisions of the Official Secrets (OS) Act.

After passing the sentence, the court granted bail to Gupta to allow her to appeal against the conviction and the sentence.

She was suspected by Indian intelligence agencies of spying for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence since 2008.

Pakistan Army, ISI pushing Sindh towards civil war: Altaf Hussain

Pakistan's army and spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) are pushing Sindh province towards a civil war, the head of the country's fourth largest party has alleged and sought the intervention of the United Nations (UN) and the international community.

In a audio message, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain alleged that Pakistan Army and ISI have "virtually taken control" of all Pakistan including Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and all Balochistan.

"They have killed hundreds and thousands of innocent Mohajir Balochs and Pashtoons who raised their voice against Punjabi army," London-based Hussain said in the message.

"Now the the world community is realising that Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI has been harbouring the most wanted terrorists including Osama bin Laden, Mullah Omer and Mullah Akhter Mansoor in Pakistan," he said.

He asked "the UN Secretary General and the international community to intervene and use their offices to stop the bloodshed of Mohajirs, Balochs and Pashtoons" in Pakistan.

Hussain said Pakistan Army and ISI are pushing Karachi, Hyderabad and urban centers of Sindh towards a civil war.

"The patience of Mohajir Nation is cutting loose as more than 20,000 Mohajirs have been extra judicially killed in army-led operations which continues since 1992," he said.

Referring to the recent Iranian statement warning Pakistan for safe havens of Taliban, jihadi groups, Hussain said Islamabad is getting isolated by every passing day in the world community.
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Pakistan army claims to have killed 30 terrorists, says 9 soldiers martyred

More than 30 terrorists and nine security personnel have been killed in Pakistan since the army launched a major operation last month, the military said on Friday.

The military announced on February 22 the start of the countrywide operation codenamed "Radd-ul-Fasaad" (Reject Discord) after a series of terrorist attacks killed over 100 people in the country.

According to the army's Inter-Service Public Relations, the security forces also foiled a number of terrorist attacks during the operation, which still continues across the country.

Nine security personnel have lost their lives in the operation.

In one of the major raids, five terrorist were killed on March 7 when they were planning to attack a judicial complex in Swabi, a district in northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

The intelligence-based operation targeted militant sleeper cells which were using their hideouts to facilitate bombers for terrorist attacks.

Army spokesman Major Gen Asif Ghafoor said in a statement that the operation was aimed at "indiscriminately eliminating residual and latent threat of terrorism, consolidating gains of operations made thus far and further ensuring security of the borders." (READ MORE)