The economy shows consistent signs of growth. The challenge in the new year is to make development more equitable and broad-based… 2010 was a year of relief that soon grew into despondency. We were relieved that India had pulled out of the deepest post-War recession relatively unscathed. The soundness of its cautious macro-economic management was underlined once again and the US economy is also looking like getting slowly back on...

From green revolution, Andhra Pradesh wants to move to pink revolution in agriculture, with women in the primary role. The project has started in a small way but hopes to turn 60 per cent of the cultivable area in the state over to organic farming. It will be implemented with the help of women’s self-help groups, which were in the limelight recently for highlighting the usury ways of micro-finance institutions. Already, over a...

Around 100 cooperative sugar mills in Maharashtra have lost one round of a battle on income tax (I-T) arrears dating back to 1992-93, with an appellate authority rejecting their argument on dues. If the decision, by the commissioner of income tax (appeals), is not appealed again, the mills may have to pay Rs 2,500 crore in arrears. Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, chairman of the Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories in Maharashtra, told Business Standard:...

Organized retail of packed food and raw food reduces prices of food for urban citizens and pays farmers a better price for the agricultural produce. It eliminates middle men and decision making at every other level. This is not rocket science. However, politicians refuse to do away with the WWII public distribution system in order to retain power at the district level. Well, for one thing, the format of the...

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has been hailed as a landmark initiative to alleviate poverty and generate productive wage employment, even if for only 100 days, for unskilled rural labour. Given its historic features, it is a pity that the rollout of the programme in many states has been less than satisfactory, and leakage of funds has become rampant. More worryingly, it has begun to have...