Trade unions and labour rights activists blame the high suicide rate in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, on the practices of the garment industry. TIRUPUR has carved out a niche for itself in the world of garments. Its phenomenal growth in the highly competitive global scenario, particularly in the past two decades, has been made possible by the entrepreneurial spirit of its manufacturers and exporters and the sweat and labour of thousands of...

The higher purchase price announced by the government has finally driven farmers to set aside more land for pulses this kharif, but experts doubt the approach can fill the increasing gap between demand and supply of this increasingly important source of protein for Indians. In the short-term though it could help reduce imports of pulses, running into thousands of crore every year. This year the acreage for pulses is pegged...

In three districts of Haryana, they have been agitating against the land acquisition policy of the State government. WHEN farmers of western Uttar Pradesh took to the streets protesting against the acquisition of their lands and demanding a just compensation package from the State government, the central leadership of the Congress was quick to cite the example of Haryana, where, according to United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the best policies...

Food inflation will defy government policies to remain in high single-digit levels in the long run, unless there is a change in an overwhelming bias among farmers towards staples such as wheat and rice, say economists and policymakers. A steady growth in population and rapidly rising income levels are adding to inflationary pressure at a time when agricultural productivity is showing a decline. A major reason is that the agriculture...

Despite various programmes initiated by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to improve the status of agriculture, famers' leaders strongly feel that not enough has been done and large numbers of farmers remain heavily in debt. 'Various flagship programmes by the UPA government, which started after 2004, have not proved helpful for farmers. Their economic policies are putting an adverse impact on agriculture sector but still nobody is bothered about it,'...