With one cotton farmer committing suicide every alternate day, the district has become a virtual killing field for growers grappling with the socio-economic upheaval caused by crop failure this season. The current spate of suicides started at the beginning of the last quarter of 2010, when it became clear that the excessive rain irreparably damaged the crops. Dismal yields and mounting Debts drove 30 farmers to death during this period. With 16...

To its credit, the ministry under Jairam Ramesh is no longer the money-making racket it once was. But its activism often resembles regulatory overreach The decision by the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to give a conditional green signal to the $12 billion Posco steel project in Orissa is exquisitely timed. It will hopefully send out a strong signal that India continues to be open for business and environmental...

Three farmers in three districts of Madhya Pradesh Monday attempted to commit suicide, in a grim reminder of the continuing crisis the state's farmers find themselves in after their crops were destroyed by frost. Ramji Marawi (28), a farmer of Saliwada village in Jabalpur, allegedly took poison along with his two sons Manish (8) and Manoj (4). They have been admitted to the Jabalpur Medical College Hospital, police said. 'For three days...

The countrywide share of corporate retail in food distribution tripled in the past four years when retail food prices showed the greatest increase. THE dramatic increase in food inflation over the past two years has been associated with several surprises. One major surprise has been how the top economic policymakers in the country have responded to it. The initial response was one of apparent disbelief, followed very quickly by the...

Microcredit lifted 10 million Bangladeshis out of poverty between 1990 and 2008, according to a report. The work of Grameen Bank and others helped many families to raise their income above $1.25 a day, said the US-based Microcredit Summit Campaign. The study follows recent criticism of microfinance, which works by providing small loans to people to invest in generating their own incomes. Some experts argue the report may have missed the bigger picture. They...