-The Indian Express Poorly designed policies are largely to blame for farm distress Successive governments have transformed an unevenly prosperous rural society to one which is evenly distressed. Small and marginal farmers now feel worse off than the landless. Most suicides have taken place in the families of such farmers, especially those with no source of non-farm income. For the sense of desperation that now pervades rural India, all political parties are...

-Hindustan Times A dominant feature of the first year of Narendra Modi's leadership is the quiet dismantling of India's imperfectly realised framework of welfare and rights, covertly, by stealth.   A declared pro-corporate agenda, such as the land acquisition ordinance, proved politically messy and costly. Therefore, the government resorted instead for an enfeebling of the welfare architecture of the country through a combination of fiscal withdrawals, ignoring even legally mandated obligations.   But this attracted...

-Outlook Bhubaneswar: A day after laying foundation for a new medical college in tribal dominated Mayurbhanj district, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today said a special scheme will be launched to reduce MMR and IMR in Odisha. "A special initiative for reduction of IMR and MMR in difficult areas of the state will be rolled out with budget of Rs 50 crore annually," Patnaik told reporters after chairing the annual meeting of the...

-Hindustan Times Good pre-monsoon showers— which have been either surplus or normal in nearly half of the country— have come as a boost for a crisis-ridden farm sector, bolstering prospects of sowing and easing some of the government’s worries.   The showers, aided by seasonal storms, have been sufficient to meet farmers’ requirements for planting key summer crops, prompting millions to head out to fields across states.   The rains have replenished 81 “nationally...

-The Telegraph Standard model: The state provides a poor woman employment for 58 days a year, under the 100-day job guarantee scheme, at (Bengal's) daily wage rate of Rs 169. Cost: about Rs 20,000 over two years. Alternative: The state provides her an asset - maybe a small grocery - teaches her to run it and monitors her progress while giving a daily stipend for her consumption needs and ensuring basic healthcare...