India must not obsess with how fast its economy is growing and instead pay more attention to its human development indicators which are worse than even that of Bangladesh, Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen said. Sen, known among his peers as the Conscience of Economics, said slower growth is not a good enough reason for national gloom. If India really must feel upset, it should be because the country is...
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Government to take states on board over food security bill
-IANS Still nursing the sting of ally Trinamool Congress opposing the Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha citing issues of federal autonomy, the United Progressive Alliance ( UPA) government wants to take the states into confidence on Sonia Gandhi's dream project - the National Food Security Bill, 2011. The bill was tabled in the Lok Sabha during the winter session of parliament last year and will now go to the standing committee...
More »Farmers ready to pay market rates for power, demand reliable supply by Madhvi Sally & Sutanuka Ghosal
Agrarian distress and growing awareness among farmers, tired of poll-time rhetoric and freebies, may make it tougher for political parties to woo this large electorate with worn-out promises in the upcoming assembly polls. Ahead of elections in five states, including in Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous and politically-critical state, many farmers say they are ready to pay market rates for power and other inputs provided there is reliable supply. Swarn Singh,...
More »State’s paddy slip showing by Pranesh Sarkar
Two of the three Bengal agencies tasked with procuring paddy directly from farmers have failed to do so till now because of lack of funds, a revelation that blunts the state government’s attempt to blame the Centre. Paddy procurement is one of the purported issues over which the Congress and the Trinamul Congress have been calling each other names. The state government had pointed fingers at the Centre-run Food Corporation of...
More »Drought caused kharif damage in 85.6 lakh acres by B Chandrashekhar
About 51.54 lakh ryots lost investments Farmers in the State have suffered crop damage in a whopping 85.6 lakh acres during the 2011 kharif season, 44 per cent of the total 1,94,65,000 acres area cultivated. About 51.54 lakh farmers, including 48.33 lakh small and marginal ones, have lost the investment almost completely. In a report submitted to the State government recently, the Department of Agriculture has put the requirement of input subsidy, compensation...
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