A recent report by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) enlightens one about the state of farmers' income and indebtedness in 2015-16. Entitled NABARD All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey 2016-17 – in short NAFIS 2016-17 – the report says that between 2012-13 and 2015-16 the average monthly income for agricultural households grew by around 39 percent. One may recall that the Key Indicators of Situation Assessment Survey...

-The Hindu The judiciary doesn’t seem to fully appreciate the economic consequences of its judgments The number of legal disputes involving property, contract, labour, tax and corporate laws is bound to increase with an expanding economy. How they are adjudicated by courts not only has direct consequences for the disputants, but also shapes the behaviour of individuals and entities involved in production, commerce and banking. Judicial findings also influence decision-making of government...

-Civil Society News New Delhi: In 1974, Dr Samir Chaudhuri, a paediatrician working in Kolkata’s slums, founded Child in Need Institute (CINI) to tackle the many dimensions of child malnutrition. It struck him at the time that malnutrition wasn’t just a clinical problem but a complex phenomenon rooted in gender issues. Over the years, led by Dr Chaudhuri, CINI developed deep understanding of the social, economic and political underpinnings of malnutrition...

-Livemint.com Investments in irrigation, combined with better-quality seeds, can dramatically improve returns to farming Global attention has been devoted to water scarcity and its effect on Indian farmers. However, new analysis from Indian researchers suggests that far more good could come if irrigation were combined with seed improvement. Tata Trusts and Copenhagen Consensus have commissioned new research by noted experts from India and around the world, looking at measures that would help Indian...

-The Hindu Business Line Because they are wealthier and have a lower population than northern States New Delhi: The southern States are less dependent on transfers from the Centre than many of their northern peers, but a cut in transfers could leave their fiscal situation precariously poised and upset some of their expenditure plans. That is exactly what they fear will happen when the 15th Finance Commission uses the 2011 population data —...