-The Hindu The headline in a recent PTI report “Saving 2 tigers gives more value than Mangalyaan”’ was intriguing, since it said that saving two tigers yields a capital benefit of Rs. 520 crores, while Mangalyaan cost us Rs. 450 crores. The headline was both exciting and hurtful. Excited by it, I contacted Professor Madhu Verma of the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal, and she shared with me both...

-The Hindu Strengthening the repayment capacity of farmers by improving and stabilising their income is the only way to keep them out of distress Indian agriculture is characterised by low scale and low productivity. About 85% of the operational landholdings in the country are below 5 acres and 67% farm households survive on an average landholding of one acre. More than half of the area under cultivation does not have access to...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A Comptroller and Auditor General audit report on the catering services in the Indian Railways, to be tabled in Parliament on Friday, has observed that food articles unsuitable for human consumption, contaminated foodstuff, recycled foodstuff, packaged and bottled items past their shelf life and unauthorised brands of water bottles were offered for sale at stations. The audit has found fault with frequent changes in catering policy...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India today told the Supreme Court that it was not in favour of publishing the list of loan defaulters who owed public sector banks Rs 500 crore or more because such disclosure might involve the statutory, contractual and fiduciary rights of the defaulters. Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, appearing for the Reserve Bank, argued that the grant of loans was covered by various statutes, including...

-Outlook Indians’ confidence in their government was higher in 2007, fell to 55 percent in 2012. It stands at 73 percent now. Numbers, facts and a bit of laziness can change perception. Mainstream media reported this morning that ‘India tops global index of countries with the most confidence in their government’, which is incorrect. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Government at a Glance report mentions that “73 per cent Indians...