-The Hindu The Budget overlooks the fact that human capabilities are as important as physical capital for economic growth and the quality of life. It goes back to the days when growth and development sounded synonymous, physical capital was thought to be the key, and human capital took a back seat Once upon a time, around the end of the Second World War, there was a naive view in development economics that...

-Down to Earth Crop loss could be to the extent of up to 20 per cent of total production in northern and central states The unusual heavy rains starting Sunday caused heavy Damage to Rabi crops in north India, particularly in Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha region of Maharastra, Saurashtra region of Gujarat and Punjab and Haryana. The unusual rains started around midnight on the intervening night of Saturday...

-The Indian Express   New Delhi: Unseasonal rainfall accompanied by strong winds is seen to have caused significant Damage to the standing rabi crop across North and Central India, adding to the woes of farmers already battling low price realisations and urea shortages. "These rains aren't beneficial for 90 per cent of the wheat, mustard or chana (chickpea) now in the fields. They may be useful only to the wheat that was sown...

-The Hindu Interview with social activist Medha Patkar on why she opposes the Land Bill proposed by the Centre Social activist Medha Patkar has been in the forefront of the struggle for the rights and rehabilitation of project-displaced populations for over two decades, and has relentlessly pursued the formulation of a national rehabilitation policy. She spoke to Gargi Parsai at the site of the agitation in Delhi about the pitfalls in the...

-Economic and Political Weekly   The stage is all set for the resumption of iron ore mining in Goa after it was suspended in the state in 2012, to curb its indiscriminate and illegal mining. The Goa government's decision to renew the mining leases comes at a time when the economics of iron ore mining have changed and environmental concerns have gained more prominence. Pamela D'Mello (dmello.pamela@gmail.com) is a Goa-based journalist. The state government...