The basic problem with the Approach Paper, as with its predecessor, is that its theoretical paradigm is wrong. WHAT used to be said of the Bourbon kings of France applies equally to the Indian Planning Commission: “They learn nothing and they forget nothing.” The Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five-Year Plan gives one a sense of déjà vu. It is hardly any different from the Approach Paper to the previous Plan...

"Will you come in now?" screams 50-year-old Tanhibai Kale of Ganeshpur village in Jhari Jhamni tehsil of Yavatmal, the heart of Vidarbha's Suicide country. Lightening streaks across the darkened skies, followed by loud thunder. Her drenched nine-year-old grandson Nandu comes in from the downpour and tries to slink in but not before getting two slaps. "Next, you'll fall ill and we'll have to go looking for money to treat you,"...

-The Indian Express   M G Chandrappa, a 60-year-old man from the city, has threatened the district administration that he would commit Suicide by jumping into a fire. The farmer has written to the DC and the SP to allow him to die the way he wished to if his problems were not solved. The though of committing Suicide occured to him after being cheated and abandoned by his sons. Chandrappa was a...

-DNA   Shetkari Sanghatana (SS), along with Prahar and Kisan Mitra, has organised a rally from Amravati to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan’s native place, Kumbhargaon in Satara district, to voice the demands of farmers in the state. The rally will start on October 23 and reach Kumbhargaon on October 27. The campaign aims to awaken the state government to the deteriorating status of farmers in Maharashtra, pressurise it to fulfill the demands of...

Agriculture specialists convening in Bern to debate the question of how to feed the world have agreed on one thing: a new paradigm is needed. Farming models are breaking down – as witnessed by the Suicide of a farmer every half hour in India - and new directions for research in agriculture for development are needed to support the sector and combat global poverty. A joint conference hosted by non-government organisation Swissaid...