The few villages in Adilabad district that remain difficult to access even now are the ones that give a ray of hope where health is concerned in the agency areas here. Much of tribal traditions with respect to Agriculture and food habits can be seen in original form in these habitations as they were left untouched by developments elsewhere. Seasonal and viral diseases account for death of scores of tribal people...

With regional disparities, the target of four per cent agricultural growth remains elusive The importance of Agriculture in the Indian economy becomes quite clear just before the monsoons. Though other sectors contribute a greater share to the national income, more than three quarters of India’s rural population is still dependent on Agriculture as the primary driver of income. India has come a long way from an era of vulnerability to food shortages...

The Agriculture ministry has said the country still has the scope to export another 2-2.5 million bales of cotton if fresh registrations for export are allowed in the coming weeks. The ministry, which has been strongly opposed to the current cap on exports at 12.5 million bales, is of the opinion that if exports are re-opened at this juncture, only 2-2.5 million bales can be exported. The remaining cotton, from the...

Consumers may have to pay substantially more for pulses, oilseed, and rice in the coming months if the government accepts the recommendations of an expert panel to increase farm-gate price of these commodities by up to 30%, further stoking food inflation. The Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), under the ministry of Agriculture, has recommended a 25% rise in the floor price of cotton, 16% rise in paddy, 30% rise...

Rural India has been denied access to globalisation, penalising farmers and farm labour. For the farmer, the government's policy is best described as Dhritarashtra's embrace. After the Mahabharata war was over, the old king met his nephews, the victorious Pandavas, and embraced them, one by one, in a gesture of forgiving and affection. When, Bhima's turn came, the loving embrace was so tight that it crushed a metal dummy of the second...