-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Minimum support price (MSP) of most of the food-grains has been increased by over 100% in the past 10 years, but it hardly benefited farmers in eastern and central India as majority there have not even heard of such procurement system. The situation is equally bad in other parts - except in states like Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and Western Uttar Pradesh - where farmers don't get...

-The Business Standard The rural non-farm sector has emerged as India's largest job creator since 2000 and needs to play a pivotal role in our structural transformation Job creation has to be a pressing priority for any new government. But it is worthwhile trying to understand the nature of our employment challenge. The unemployment rate, as understood in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) world, is not a very useful indicator...

Until recently it had been an enigma for health practitioners to understand why people do not wash their hands before dinner or after defecation despite knowing the health hazards or benefits associated with it. An experimental study conducted in 14 villages in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh shows that emotional campaigns can work wonders and decisively change behaviours. The study was conducted between May 24, 2011, and September 10, 2012...

-The Hindustan Times The women's reservation Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2010 but has not yet been passed in the Lok Sabha. No other legislation in our democratic history has been discussed for so many years (15 years) without being passed or rejected. Such a delay has happened even though major parties support the Bill and there are 1.2-1.5 million women who hold elected office at the local level...

-The Hindustan Times Jorhat (Assam): In 2006, ten years after she started selling coconut ladoos to bail her husband out of a debt trap, Meghali Bora met Kangkaan Pegu in Majuli, a 527 sq km island in river Brahmaputra off Jorhat town 305 km east of Guwahati. The latter suffered from bipolar disorder, a manic-depressive illness marked by suicidal tendencies. Bora taught Kangkaan her conquer-adversity mantra: if your life is in a...