-The Telegraph In her recent book, Green Wars, the environmental journalist Bahar Dutt, writes: "The editor of a leading media house, everytime I pitched a green story, would invariably complain: ‘Environmentalism is stalling growth; all I am interested in is double-digit growth for this country.'" The idea that environmental protection and economic progress are at odds is widely held among India's elite. It is shared by newspaper editors, economists, businessmen, and, not...

-The Hindu Business Line Whether it is promoting a lease market in land or the use of tractors, credit should be tailored to the needs of marginal players The Finance Minister has announced several measures to make farming competitive and rev up growth in agriculture. While this is welcome, the sector as a whole needs an overhaul to make best use of these measures. To address the needs of landless farmers who are...

-The Tribune Chandigarh: One of the main reasons for a large number of suicides in the agriculture sector is debt. It is an established fact that Punjab farmers turn to non-institutional sources of credit despite a large network of banks in the state. At least 52.77 per cent rural households in the state are dependent on non-institutional sources for loans, says Dr Satish Verma, Professor, Reserve Bank of India Chair, CRRID. He...

-Tehelka Bureau Though well-meaning, the new Land Acquisition Act is far from being a perfect legislation. But the urgency to amend a law even before a real field test signals a larger agenda. By all counts, this was expected. Long before he became the BJP and subsequently the nation's chosen one, Narendra Modi had made it clear that his model of development gains from the ease of doing business. Then, days ahead...

-The Hindu Business Line Hyderabad: The news of 11,772 farmers committing suicide did not hit the headlines when the NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) released its data for 2013 early this week. The gravity of the problem somehow didn't get the attention it deserved. Perhaps, we are quite used to the numbers since they have always remained north of 10,000 in the last few years. Those who closely follow developments in Indian...