-The Indian Express The debate on the land acquisition bill and the tragic suicide of a farmer in Delhi compel us to reflect on a theme of enduring significance: the role of agriculture and farmers in development. What has the historical experience all over the world been? How is India’s agrarian narrative different — or identical? What can India learn from international experience? Many years ago, I wrote a book, Democracy, Development...

Social justice is one of the basic pillars of democracy. But when it comes to livelihood security and socio-economic status of various communities in rural areas, persons belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) lag far behind the upper caste population. This has been revealed in a recent National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) report entitled: Employment and Unemployment Situation among Social Groups in India...

-Business Standard As critics find fault in the new gross domestic product (GDP) data, National Statistical Commission (NSC) Chairman Pronab Sen, heading a committee to review the methodology of the new series, tells Indivjal Dhasmana much of the criticism is due to the lack of information about the methodology and sourcing of the new data. Edited excerpts:   NSC has appointed a committee under you to review the new GDP data. Has it...

-The Indian Express As the toll of human misery and suicide mounts, official estIMAtes of farm losses due to unseasonal rains and hailstorms in March remain controversial, with hasty downward revision. Since these estIMAtes are largely notional, without validation from field visits, such revision smacks of deliberate fiddling. On March 24, the agriculture ministry reported that crops on 18 million hectares — about 30 per cent of the rabi crops —...

-MoneyControl.com The MET department has forecasted presence of El Nino for the second year in a row, only this time it is expected to be much stronger. Simultaneously the agriculture ministry has also submitted a report on unseasonal rains that impacted the Rabi crops last fiscal. Will the agri community face the curse of weather gods once again? Abhijit Sen, professor of economics at JNU, says a depressed rural income is...