Migrant workers and minorities are among groups that continue to face discrimination in the labour market as a result of the global economic crisis, despite positive advances in anti-discrimination laws, the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) said in a report unveiled today. “Economically adverse times are a breeding ground for discrimination at work and in society more broadly. We see this with the rise of populist solutions,” said ILO Director-General...

Everyone knows how much food prices have risen in the last few years. Not everyone, however, knows how much costs have spiralled for those who produce the food you and I eat. Data on daily wage rates for agricultural operations, compiled by the Labour Bureau at Shimla, show huge increases to have taken place in most States during 2009 and 2010. Andhra Pradesh, for instance, has seen farm wage rates – the...

TARN TARAN, India—India's northern state of Punjab was once a symbol of the nation's economic progress, its advances in agriculture lauded world-wide as a spectacular feat that made India self-sufficient in food production. But Punjab today faces a grave economic crisis, the result of years of shoddy governance that have stunted growth and created such a mound of public debt that the state is now seeking a multibillion dollar bailout from...

The chairman of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), Ashok Gulati, is a well-known proponent of reforms and an agricultural economist with diverse experience. Prior to taking charge of CACP, he was the International Food Policy Research Institute director in Asia. In an interview, Gulati spoke about the urgency for initiating reforms in the agricultural sector and made a strong case for intervention to check falling wheat prices either...

A comprehensive study of Isro satellite images reveals 75% of Himalayan glaciers are on the retreat, with the average shrinkage being 3.75km during the 15 years under study. The grim findings come after raging controversy over claims in the 2007 IPCC report of Himalayan glaciers disappearing by 2035, which were later retracted. The project, which studied 2,190 glaciers, was commissioned by the ministry of environment and forests and department of space...