If someone is a rural male, what occupation would he prefer? A rational person might say that depending on the highest prevailing daily wage rate in a particular occupation (which is subject to seasonal variation) vis-à-vis the rest, he will make his choice.   An exercise undertaken by the Inclusive Media for Change team based on the latest available month-wise wage data of rural men shows that there is a seasonal variation...

-Hindustan Times Government’s decision is aimed to cut dependence of small and marginal farmers on usurious informal private lenders. The government has streamlined lending norms in schemes such as the Kisan Credit Card to boost institutional credit flow to small and marginal farmers who make up over 90% of people engaged in agriculture and, as a class, are highly vulnerable to risks. The aim is to cut their dependence on usurious...

-The Telegraph Washington: The Supreme Court of America on Monday agreed to consider reviving a lawsuit by Indian villagers seeking to hold a Washington-based international financial institution responsible for widespread environmental damage they blame on a power plant it financed. The justices will hear an appeal by the villagers of a lower court ruling that the International Finance Corp (IFC) was immune from such lawsuits under federal law. IFC, part of the World...

The present NDA government led by the BJP at the Centre came to power in 2014 on the planks of development and anti-corruption. However, contrary to PM Narendra Modi's slogan of 'Na Khaunga, Na Khaane Doonga' (meaning ‘would not take bribes, nor would let anyone accept bribe’), a new report by the Delhi-based Centre for Media Studies (CMS) shows that almost three-fourth of Indian households think that the level of...

-The Telegraph/ PTI New Delhi: Petrol prices have touched a record high of Rs 76.24 per litre and diesel climbed to a highest ever Rs 67.57 in New Delhi with the oil PSUs passing on to consumers the impact of four weeks of a relentless rise in international prices. The price of petrol rose by 33 paise a litre in Delhi, the highest since the daily price revisions came into force in...