-Economic and Political Weekly In Tamil Nadu, the extreme variation in rainfall had reduced the availability of water to agriculture and caused the groundwater table to fall by 37%. The production of rice, an important crop, had became particularly precarious. A well-designed upscaling strategy boosted and sustained the production of rice; it also helped the build-up of organic matter and improved soil fertility. This experience shows that the System of Rice...

-TheWire.in In a recent NITI Aayog report, essential areas like population health and primary healthcare receive only ritualistic treatment. The NITI Aayog’s recently published report titled ‘Health System for a New India: Building Blocks – Potential Pathways to Reform‘ is remarkable in a number of ways. It has dared to challenge the entrenched healthcare paradigm and move beyond the traditional, clichéd discourse on healthcare reform that has hitherto characterised our plan and...

-The Indian Express India’s labour productivity between 2016 and 2018 grew by just 3.7 per cent — a far cry from the annual growth of 14 per cent between 2004 and 2008 An analysis done by India Ratings and Research of Annual Survey of Industries data on India’s labour productivity growth in the organised manufacturing sector shows a disappointing trend. During the high economic growth phase between 2004 and 2008 (just before...

  Air quality in North India in general and Delhi National Capital Region (Delhi NCR) in particular plunged to its lowest point in recent years during October-November thanks to a variety of factors. Through media reports one comes to know that stubble burning (also called paddy straw burning/ crop residue burning) is chiefly responsible for the public health crisis in India's capital and its nearby regions. Data accessed from the website...

-The Hindu The credibility of the RBI, the CSO and the Niti Aayog has taken a beating in recent times due to political interference Nobel laureate Oliver Williamson pondered over an important question, around 25 years ago: “Why are the ambitions of economic development practitioners and reformers so often disappointed?” According to him, “one answer is that development policymakers and reformers are congenital optimists. Another answer is that good plans are regularly...