-The Hindustan Times If the opinion polls are to be believed, the UPA is facing a rout in the coming Lok Sabha elections. One explanation, popular in the media, goes something like this: The UPA faces voter wrath because it destroyed growth. The economy has paid a price for bad governance and expensive welfare schemes. If you look at data for the last two years, this view will find some support....

-Live Mint Inefficient government relief is reason to allow access to alternatives The increased probability of an El Nino weather pattern has already begun to rustle up fears about how a bad monsoon could hurt a sluggish Indian economy. The concerns are valid even though the economy is less dependent on agriculture than before and reservoir levels this summer are quite comfortable. The lessons of previous El Nino episodes in 2002...

-The Hindu Business Line Farmers in Maharashtra are struggling to cope with losses from last month's hailstorm. Satyanarayan Iyer, who travelled extensively through the affected areas, chronicles the region's woe. Shanta Jadhav will never forget that day. It was March 8, a Saturday. The 70-year-old and her husband were in their small hut in Balamthakli village in Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra. At 6.30 in the evening, they were startled by a loud thud,...

-Down to Earth Demand income security and sustainability, and redressal of grievances relating to land matters which they say are the biggest source of corruption and mis-governance The apathy of successive governments of Andhra Pradesh towards the deepening agrarian crisis has resulted in farmers groups organising themselves to put pressure on political parties during election time. The Rythu Swarajya Vedika, an umbrella organisation of various farmers' groups and non-profits working in the...

-The Telegraph   Bottle gourd shells, used to make traditional musical instruments like sitar and tanpura, are no longer grown by the farmers in Howrah, reports Amrita Ghosh West Bengal: Its not without reason that "shader lau..." is the most popular folk song in parts of rural Bengal, including Howrah. "Lau" or bottle gourd, as the folk song goes, turns a man into a vagrant as he eats its base and its top...