The Trinamool Congress rode to power earlier this year on the strength of popular resentment against the acquisition of land for commercial development, but farmers in West Bengal seeking higher compensation say the party is no longer as receptive to their demands. That maybe because, while the Trinamool Congress-led state government has said it won’t acquire private property for industrial use, it is keen on creating jobs and is, therefore, allotting...
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New green revolution: Producer companies help farmers reap profits by Nidhi Nath Srinivas
Farmers are joining India Inc in mind, body and spirit. In a quiet revolution underway across the countryside, growers are setting up companies, replete with balance sheets, professional CEOs, board of directors, and income tax returns. By pooling together the land and produce of their shareholders, these companies are signing lucrative deals with large retail chains, food companies and exporters keen to establish reliable supply chains. As many as 200 companies...
More »NREGA Lines Pockets. Not of the Poor by Abhishek Bhalla
JANGU, 40, a Dalit labourer in Paraspur village in Gonda district, 120 km northeast of Lucknow, displays his job card in complete disbelief. “My job card was made three years ago and shows three payments. But I was never given any work, so how was the payment made?” he asks, puzzled. The first entry shows a payment of Rs 1,400 but he received a paltry Rs 100. He never went...
More »Muddling through retail reform by Ajay Dua
In opening up the retail trade to foreign equity last week, the Union government demonstrated uncharacteristic courage and conviction. While this policy measure might help dispel doubts about its ability to take decisions, it has raised a political dust-storm more intense and widespread than it had probably bargained for. No doubt, taking a view on the issue of liberalising FDI norms for multi-brand retail had been on the government’s agenda for...
More »Grim predictions by G Srinivasan
India ranks a dismal 134 among 187 countries in terms of human development index in the UNDP's latest Human Development Report. Against this bleak backdrop, the bugle of caution is rightly sounded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its latest Human Development Report (HDR), released in Copenhagen on November 2 jointly by Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark. As the international community is busy preparing...
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