-The Hindu Ill fares the land where wealth accumulates, and the social and natural environment suffer As the general elections approach, it would be politic to take stock of the progress made by the incumbent party and look out for the areas that call for particular attention by the one that gains power. Without anticipating complete agreement on the indicators that ought to be used, I look at the changes since 2014...
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Dream crops or farmers' worst nightmare? -Vivek Waghmode, Sandeep Rai and Satyajit Joshi
-The Times of India Mills in Maharashtra and UP, the two states that account for most of India's sugar supply, owe sugarcane farmers Rs 12,700 cr. Yet, farmers do not want to move away from the crop KOLHAPUR/ MEERUT: Unrest simmers in districts of western Maharashtra and parts of Uttar Pradesh, considered the sugar bowls of the country, over unpaid cane crushing dues. Despite the problems which beset farmers, however, they have...
More »Knee-Jerk Reactions Won't Solve India's Groundwater Crisis -Nitya Jacob
-TheWire.in Aquifers at all levels are being depleted. There is thus an urgent need to review and enact the long-pending model groundwater bill. As winter tips into summer, the next round of water struggles will begin. By February, hand pumps across rural India will start going dry. People in urban centres, mostly small towns living off small stores of groundwater, will start getting increasingly erratic supply. The government will once again initiate...
More »Issues in power subsidy and farm distress -Shripad Dharmadhikary, Sreekumar Nhalur & Ashwini Dabadge
-The Hindu Business Line Farmers are wrongly blamed for high power consumption. They need incentives for growing appropriate crops Agitations and loan waivers have brought the economics of agriculture in focus. Much of the discussion is about minimum support price, farmers’ net incomes and debt repayment capacities. However, the inputs side of the issue, especially the role and sustainability of subsidised inputs, also need equal attention if agriculture distress is to be...
More »P Sainath, acclaimed journalist and Founder-Editor of the People's Archive of Rural India, interviewed by Anuradha SenGupta (News18.com)
-News18.com Acclaimed journalist and Founder-Editor of the People’s Archive of Rural India, P Sainath attributes the existential crisis confronting India’s agrarian society to macro-economic policies set in motion 25 years ago. Talking to Anuradha SenGupta, Sainath makes a case for state intervention in agriculture and says the Modi government, with its shifting positions and policies like demonetisation has only aggravated the assault on agrarian livelihoods. Dismissing the buzz about imminent new initiatives...
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