-Economic and Political Weekly The government’s initiative to increase farmers’ incomes is welcome as it is central to dealing with the agrarian crisis in India. Various mechanisms for increasing farmers’ incomes from the perspective of small farmers and farm workers are critically examined. The article proposes a focus on high-value crops and rain-fed areas, non-farm occupations, agro-industrialisation, and strengthening and innovating producer and worker institutions in India. It also presents insights...

-The Hindu Five years after the first canteen came up, the future of the pet project of the then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa hangs in balance due to reports of fall in patronage and mounting losses borne by civic bodies. Budgetary support and operational reforms may be necessary for a course correction Sekar. D was observing this newspaper’s team of reporters as he sat cross-legged on the tiled floor. Then, he abandoned his...

-TheWire.in The Modi government’s attempts to reshape the economy lie entirely in the financial realm; they come on the back of concerted efforts to strip workers of legal protection in not just the informal sector, but also the formal. The Narendra Modi government has made two major interventions in the economic sphere, demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), with the ostensible aim of expanding the formal sector at the expense...

-The Telegraph The Left in Bengal had often criticised him whenever he red-flagged excessive local tyranny, and spoke about the industrial decline in Bengal. The incumbent ruling party may make tall claims about changes in Bengal since the Trinamul government came to power but he has been candid enough to suggest that he hasn't seen much change either in industrial expansion or in investment in infrastructure. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has...

-The Telegraph Delhi: Explosions triggered by a fire ripped through a plastic and firecracker factory in Delhi on Saturday evening, killing at least 17 workers in the capital's worst blaze since the 1997 Uphaar cinema tragedy. "Our firemen reported that the fire was in a firecracker factory at the basement, ground and first floors," chief fire officer Atul Garg said. "It was not a big fire. But explosions inside the factory resulted...