-Down to Earth Bihar needs to strengthen and enhance capacities of Gram Panchayats to realise the gains of a decentralised planning Imagine yourself living for ages in a remote village inside a dense forest in the 21st century. Basic amenities such as proper roads, safe drinking water, healthcare and education facilities are missing.  The nearest PRImary school and health centre is located at a distance of seven kilometres. You have to trek through...

-The Telegraph With a per capita income at a whopping $2554, poverty is down; exports are up and GDP is fueled by both agriculture and manufacturing; but the downside is a growing nexus between politics and business There is justifiable PRIde all around at Bangladesh’s remarkable performance in both the economic and social development dimensions. “Pakistan and India don’t matter. We have done better than both!” The figures speak for themselves. The renowned...

-The Tribune In India, there is a concerted campaign to discredit the arhtiya, building the case for bringing in agri-business companies. There is certainly a need to regulate the middlemen, but the American experience shows how the consolidation of the meat industry, leading to market concentration in the hands of a few companies, is making it difficult for livestock farmers to survive. WHILE Indian policy makers and economists haven’t drawn any lessons...

-TheThirdPole.net As climate change increases the incidence of flooding, women in the northeast Indian state of Bihar are becoming more vulnerable to violence and trafficking After devastating floods struck the northeastern Indian state of Bihar in August 2017, the country’s PRIme minister, Narendra Modi, conducted an aerial survey of the affected areas. At the time, nearly 3,000 square kilometres of the state were under water – an area twice the size of...

-Moneycontrol.com An intense focus on securing market access abroad and promoting Indian goods saw dozens of new products including Himachali millets and Chandauli’s black rice being shipped from India to several new destinations such as the UAE, and Denmark India’s agriculture and allied exports grew at a brisk 21 percent in the first eight months of the current financial year despite broken supply chains and various challenges brought about by the COVID-19...