One is almost certain to hear this from an economist that if something is available at free of cost or at a subsidised rate thanks to government intervention, then people tend to overuse or overconsume such goods/ commodities. So, the best solution is to create a market for such 'almost freely available' or 'highly subsidised' goods or commodities. Once people start paying to use or consume such goods/ commodities, they...

-The Tribune Kurukshetra: Shortage of DAP has triggered panic among farmers. They have started looking for fertiliser for the wheat-sowing season, but DAP is not easily available. Meanwhile, long queues were Witnessed in Shahabad where the farmers had gathered to procure DAP. The farmers alleged that an artificial shortage was being created and private players were minting money by selling the fertiliser at exorbitant rates. Sanjeev, a farmer from Alampur village, said: “Farmers...

-Newslaundry.com From a media blackout to carrying government handouts, Bangladeshi media’s coverage of the recent communal violence is a reflection of declining press freedom. A little after 2am on October 13, the eighth day of Durga Puja, a man walked into the puja venue at Nanuardighi in Cumilla, Bangladesh. The main idol was curtained off for the night, but near it was an idol of Hanuman. The man placed a book near...

-The Tribune Karnal: The commission formed to probe the August 28 Bastara toll plaza lathicharge incident, led by Justice Somnath Aggarwal (Retd) of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, on Monday reached the PWD Rest House here and recorded the statements of six farmers. The government had earlier announced that the panel would complete the inquiry in 30 days, but Justice Aggarwal on Monday said it would take around four months. The statements...

-The Hindu A gut-wrenching story of the poor and marginalised who work and live at Mumbai’s Deonar landfill to earn their daily bread Rag pickers live off what the rest of the world throws away. They lead invisible lives in the landfills that keep growing, stagnating and putrefying with items discarded by the city’s rich. The dark trail of modern life is seen and felt everywhere. Journalist Saumya Roy, who spent eight years...