-The Financial Express The state of India’s rural economy is puzzling. There is enough evidence to support both opposing statements: one, that the rural economy has improved, and two, that the rural economy is in the doldrums. Some macro indicators have improved, though. The rural unemployment rate has been falling, while rural wages have been rising, particularly on a real basis. Alongside, indicators such as two-wheeler sales and consumer non-durables production...

-The Financial Express The domestic prices of key agricultural commodities were below the export-parity prices during most of the time in the decade 2004-2014, according to a new study by Icrier and World Bank. However, the export/import opportunities were not always used as restrictive trade policies played spoilsport; for instance in the 2007-08 global food crisis, though rising global prices made many Indian products export-competitive, rice and wheat exporters among others were...

-The Tribune Over 150 farmers’ bodies have come together on a common agenda IS the farmers’ movement in India entering a new phase? Six weeks is too short a window to answer this question with certainty. But the nature of farmers’ protest across the country since the beginning of farmers’ strike in Punjab shows signs of something new. This impression is confirmed in a two-week journey connecting farmers, organisations and movements across six...

-The Hindu Business Line Indian digital economy set to reach $ one trillion in another 5-7 years: Ravi Shankar Prasad Kolkata: Around 1.5 lakh gram panchayats will be connected via optical fibre under the national optical fibre network programme of the Centre by mid-2018, the Union Minister for Electronics & IT and Law & Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad, said today. Of the targeted 2.5 lakh gram panchayats are to be connected under this...

-TheWire.in While this is likely a side-effect of demonetisation, more research is needed to unpack how India’s unemployment rate fell in January-April 2017. New Delhi: The Modi government’s demonetisation decision may have resulted in the loss of roughly 1.5 million jobs, according to new survey data put out by the Centre for Monitoring Indian economy (CMIE). CMIE’s data is based on the result of consecutive waves of household surveys performed from January 2016...