-The Indian Express Wage growth in agriculture outpacing that in industry is a bad sign for the economy Against a 63 per cent rise in industrial wages in a 10-year period, agricultural wages in the harvesting season have risen by 117 per cent, according to data released by the agriculture ministry this week. The difference in the rise in wages in the two sectors, from comparable bases, is not a statistical artefact....

-The Hindustan Times India is building a new system to predict the monsoons - one that will forecast summer rain more accurately than the present model. This comes after the ministry of earth sciences, which oversees the Met department, concluded that its 'empirical method' has become obsolete. The new model - called the dynamic model - will cost Rs. 400 crore and take three years to be ready. "Though the empirical model is still...

-Frontline A study finds that institutional support alone cannot help reduce maternal mortality in India.  THE high rate of maternal mortality in India has been a cause for national concern, especially on account of the focus on reaching the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Although there is a growing realisation that it will be difficult to meet the MDG targets by that deadline, there is a renewed interest in the...

-Live Mint The current policy on compensating landowners could adversely affect character of India’s future growth The Parliament is currently considering a land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement Bill (LARR Bill), as are various state legislatures. These are likely to affect the pace and character of future growth in India in a significant way.  Setting up new industries, service establishments and real estate development will inevitably require land to be acquired from rural areas....

-The Hindu The Planning Commission’s draft 12th Plan for health has attracted much debate and controversy. Critics have been quick to direct their attention at two issues in it — the proposed increase in government health spending from one per cent to 1.58 per cent of GDP, and the “managed care model.” The spending increase was rightly felt to be grossly inadequate to move India towards achieving universal health care. The...