-Outlook Hapur: Its benefit to farmers was well touted. The reality of the loan waiver is less creditable. In the early hours of a foggy morning in the sugarcane belt of western Uttar Pradesh, produce-laden bullock carts move about in Rasoolpur village, Hapur district, about 50 km from Delhi. As good a spot as any to gauge the impact of the ambitious loan waiver scheme for farmers announced by the UPA-I...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Of FDI, Wal-Mart & controversies: An eventful year for retail
-PTI The retail sector, where the government permitted foreign direct investment in multi-brand, courted controversies during the year with several opposition parties making it a political issue in Parliament. Even before its entry into multi-brand retail, the global chain Wal-Mart was grappling with various issues, including spending money in the US on lobbying for entry into India. Adding action to the drama was Swedish furniture chain IKEA's hectic bargaining with the government over...
More »Weft and warp of a crisis-Vivek S & Aseem Shrivastava
-The Hindu Though more people in India are in the textile sector, than in any other of the economy, bar agriculture, hostile and indifferent government policies are giving it short shrift Handloom weavers from all over the country are on a 72-hour hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi from today in protest against the government’s textile policy. The protest is led by Rastra Cheneta Jana Samakhya, the State Handloom Weavers’...
More »Rural India in poverty, Jairam Ramesh blames private health sector
-The Indian Express Lamenting the virtual collapse of public health system in major parts of the country, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh today said rural families are falling into debt trap due to expensive private health sector. In large parts of the country, particularly in central and eastern India and in tribal belts, he said public health system is "not abysmal but has collapsed". "Indebtedness caused by private health sector is one of the...
More »The roots of poverty: Ruinous healthcare costs-Anirudh Krishna
-Live Mint While natural disasters grab our attention, everyday events like illness drag most people into poverty In a small town of Gujarat, I met Chandibai, a woman, about 50 years of age. Fifteen years previously, her husband, Gokalji, had owned a general-purpose shop in the town centre. The family also owned a house and some agricultural land. In 1989, Gokalji developed an illness that confined him to bed, sometimes at home...
More »