-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Made up of eight states and accounting for about 4% of India's population, the northeast region is better known for its separatist movements and incendiary ethnic conflicts. It has 25 Lok Sabha members, 14 of them from Assam, and so, does not draw serious attention from political parties involved in the national sweepstakes. The region receives huge funds from the central government that prop up...

-PTI New Delhi: Amid differences between rural development and agriculture ministries over implementation of works under rural job scheme, a parliamentary panel said that improper planning of jobs during farm season was causing labour availability problem in the key sector. "... Lack of proper planning of works under MNREGA without keeping in view of local agriculture practice is causing the problem of labour availability in agriculture sector," Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural...

-The Hindu Hard work, dedication and some innovative thinking to make use of available resources for getting maximum benefit are practised by few farmers. Mr. Poornaand Venkatesh Bhat from Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka is an exception. A contractor-turned-farmer by choice, he started cultivation in 21 acres but soon had to give it up since his land was bought by the Government to set up a naval base. He invested the money he received...

-IndiaResists.com The ongoing debate between two stalwart economists, Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati, must be joined by those who understand contemporary realities and challenges in terms altogether different from those of mainstream economists. In a recent (July 27) article in Times of India, Bhagwati's co-author Arvind Panagariya characterizes the differences between the two in the following terms. Sen favours education and health measures as being the first steps to tackle poverty...

-CivilSocietyOnline.com Kozhikode: Dubai's agriculture minister recently chartered a flight to Kozhikode and, accompanied by a horticulture consultant, headed to the Agriculture Research Station (ARS) at Anakkayam nearby. There the minister, Abdulla Jassim Abdulla M Almarzooqi, placed orders for fruits, spices and ornamental plants. But on his mind was something bigger. He offered free visas and air tickets to the 100 members of the research station's agricultural army, which rather grandly goes...