-Live Mint   A key reason for the surge in anti-incumbency faced by UPA has been its failure to curb inflationary pressures New Delhi: A key reason for the surge in anti-incumbency faced by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has been its failure to curb inflationary pressures for most of the regime's second tenure. While inflation based on wholesale prices averaged 6.1% during UPA-1 (2004-2009), it was a percentage point higher at 7.1%...

-Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR)   The position paper "Towards Resilient Agriculture in a Changing Climate Scenario" captures the ground realities of small-holder farmers in rainfed Maharashra, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. It presents Watershed Organisation Trust's (WOTR) approach towards climate-resilient agriculture. The paper suggests recommendations for policy that will help increase the response capacity of farmers. It also draws attention to the need of enhancing the resilience of the ecosystem so as...

-The Times of India   NEW DELHI: The forecast of a weak monsoon this year has brought back worries of a water crisis in the country. Water is fast depleting in key reservoirs, and although current levels are significantly higher than normal in most places with the exception of south India, a slow start to the monsoon next month could quickly bring the situation to a head. The latest update from the...

-The Indian Express How Punjab is making the best use of the flawed public distribution system. Inclusive economic growth is a political, economic and social necessity. The question is: what is the right strategy to ensure this? Most of our programmes to help the underprivileged have suffered from leakages and inefficiencies, so that the benefits have not accrued to the targeted groups but the strain on our fiscal deficit remains. Subsidies are...

-The Hindu     Aberrations in monsoon behaviour are not uncommon. What is new is the difficulty in forecasting caused by factors coming under the generic title, ‘Climate change.' Forecasts by the South Asian Climate Outlook Forum and the India Meteorological Department indicate that the south-west monsoon rainfall may be deficient. Also, there is a possibility of the evolution of an El Niño event during June to September. There is a 45 per cent...