-Business Standard Greater adoption of cash crops combined with a collapse in the prices of agri-commodities has led farmers to the brink in major agricultural areas According to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) data, nearly 64 per cent of all farmer suicides in the country in 2013 took place in the four States of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, raising the question: why is rural stress resulting in farmer suicides...

-The Indian Express We need a contingency plan that combines real-time technology with robust insurance and easy credit. On April 22, 2015 the Indian Met Department (IMD) released its first forecast for the upcoming monsoon rains, saying it is likely to be below normal, at 93 per cent of the long period average (LPA). Only a week before that, on April 15, a private forecaster, Skymet, had predicted normal rains (102...

-The Indian Express Niggling procedural hassles stymie efforts to modernise antiquated labour regulations.   As it completes one year in office, the NDA government seems to have finally bit the bullet and taken up the controversial Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, for amendments that would allow easier retrenchment and closure norms for firms with up to 300 workers though ensuring that the employees get higher compensation in return. The draft code on industrial relations has...

-The Times of India AHMEDABAD: The Hindu Marriage Act clearly States that the bridegroom should have completed the age of 21 years and the bride 18 years at the time of the marriage. But going by the 2011 census figures, 1.06 lakh girls and 70,312 boys who have been married are below 15 years of age. The figures reveal that nearly one fourth of the married girls in the state are below...

-Down to Earth The crash in potato price is triggering a wave of suicides in several States. Will the NDA government's ambitious Price Stabilisation Fund help farmers? Soon after the National Democratic Alliance government announced its ambitious Price Stabilisation Fund to contain price volatility in the domestic market, the scheme faces its acid test. A bumper crop has led to a free fall in potato prices in several States this year. Between...