Barely 50 km from the capital of India's most populous state, in Daulatpur village in Barabanki district, a mini agriculture revolution is taking place. What 41-year-old Ram Saran Verma began in 1996 on a 6-acre plot of land in a remote rural pocket has now grown into an 85-acre empire that feeds hundreds of workers, besides providing indirect employment to many more. "The urge to do something beyond the routine...

Recently there has been considerable media discussion about the issue of rise in prices of essential commodities and the problem of food inflation. In a country like India, where the cost of food forms major part of the monthly or daily expenditure incurred by an average family, this is a debate which acquires poignant significance. This is a government that came into power based on a concern for and commitment...

At a time when the flow of institutional credit has tended to look up, pointing to economic recovery, the disbursal of agricultural credit has dipped by an astonishing 30 per cent, putting the prospects of recovery in the drought-ravaged farm sector in jeopardy. The numbers released by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) indicate that both commercial banks and cooperative credit outlets are lagging behind their targets...

The film industry is tackling the controversial issue of farmer suicides After drinking pesticide out of sheer desperation, poverty-stricken farmer Nandu collapsed. He did this on screen in front of an audience at a packed multiplex cinema, which issued a collective gasp. Nandu is just a character in a recent Indian film about farmer suicides. But his tragic fate has been a reality for thousands of farmers across India. For the first...

Erratic power supply, poverty bane of Marathwada region  About four lakh people migrate every year to work as sugarcane cutters Sugar factories contribute to water scarcity DHAITANA (Beed district): The Assembly elections are not the reason for excitement in this village located in the backward Marathwada region of Maharashtra. It’s water. In the afternoon heat, women and children are running towards the only source of water located outside sarpanch Achyut Gangane’s house....