-Down to Earth While Hudhud caused $11 billion worth of damages, the flooding in the Indian and Pakistani portions of Kashmir was worth $18 billion The floods in Jammu and Kashmir and Cyclone Hudhud in Peninsular India were the costliest natural disasters of 2014, a new report has said. According to the ‘Annual Global Climate and Catastrophe Report' by leading global reinsurance intermediary and full-service capital advisor, Aon Benfield, while Hudhud caused $11...
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After petrol and diesel, Modi government may deregulate urea -Harish Damodaran
-The Indian Express After petrol and diesel, the Narendra Modi government is looking next to deregulate urea. In the works is a three-year plan to decontrol the maximum retail price (MRP) of this fertiliser - currently fixed at Rs 5,360 a tonne or Rs 268 per 50-kg bag - alongside permitting duty-free imports sans any canalisation or restrictions, and credit the subsidy directly into the bank accounts of farmers. Urea imports now...
More »Into the abyss? -Jitendra
-Down to Earth The situation of India's farmers has only become grimmer in the past decade, according to the latest National Sample Survey Office report The lot of the embattled Indian farmer only keeps on getting worse with the passage of time. In the last 10 years, the voluminous debt of Indian agricultural households has increased almost four-fold whereas their undersized monthly income from cultivation has increased three-fold. Even the number of...
More »City must be equitable, not smart -Medha Patkar
-The Indian Express Just a few years ago, the World Bank in its World Development Report claimed that migration from rural India to urban centres is "natural" and the same should not be interrupted or prevented through schemes like the MGNREGA. This was a shocking statement to all those who know why there is huge and ever-growing migration to cities, not only of the labour class but also of farmers and small...
More »Vegetable prices soar again in Delhi; bad crop, exports to Pakistan blamed
-The Times of India NEW DELHI/AMRITSAR: Vegetable prices have begun to hurt again, ahead of elections in the capital. The reasons attributed for the spike in prices this time are reduced supplies due to unseasonal rainfall and exports to Pakistan. Retailers in the capital say vegetable prices started rising around 10 days ago. On Monday, tomatoes were selling for Rs 40-50 per kg, around 10-20% higher than just two weeks ago. "Production this...
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