-Livemint The development economist on the Modi government's initiatives and his stand on them, and MGNREGS The Narendra Modi-led government should consider replacing inefficient subsidies with a basic monthly income for all citizens, says Pranab Bardhan , emeritus professor of economics at the University of California at Berkeley. Bardhan, who recently sparred with economists Jagdish Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya in a debate over the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS),...

-The Financial Express Besides better yield, mechanisation leads to a rise in labour employment   India is known as the land of agriculture, with a holding of nearly 157 million hectares of cultivable land, making our country the second-largest agricultural landholder in the world. With over 58% of the country's population depending on agriculture for earning livelihood, it is also the biggest employment avenue in the country. The Indian Green Revolution is regarded as...

-The Times of India PATNA: Even as Bihar is endowed with substantial groundwater resources, a vast section of its population has no easy access to potable water. The government claims to have sunk more than 10 lakh shallow and 2000 deep tubewells in different parts of the state, but they fail to cope up with the ever-increasing demand of the people for domestic and irrigational needs. Experts feel that assured availability of...

-The Telegraph Calcutta: Private companies will be able to buy farm produce directly from farmers in Bengal. But the widely-anticipated whoop of exultation from Indian industry over the amendment in the state's agri-marketing act was somewhat muted because of the lack of clarity on the issue of contract farming and the absence of clear guidelines on whether the state government would provide incentives and help in the acquisition of land for private...

-PTI MUMBAI: Lack of cold and frozen supply chains leads to loss of fruits and vegetables worth over Rs 13,600 crore annually in the country, according to a report. The report 'A Tank of Cold: Cleantech Leapfrog to a more food secure world' by UK-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers calls for urgent action to encourage roll-out of sustainable cold chains in India to prevent unnecessary food loss, help alleviate hunger and improve...