In a small hamlet in Andhra Pradesh’s Ghatkesar district, 20km from Hyderabad, Indus Academy is one of four schools offering private education for the poor. Run by Career Launcher India Ltd’s foundation, its three single-storey buildings house around 40 children in the age group of 4-10. The walls of the school are festooned with bright-coloured pictures, and the school boasts a laptop, a television, a DVD player and plentiful study...

The recent announcement of minimum support prices (MSP) for various Kharif crops has once again called into question certain aspects of the official policy towards agricultural pricing. True to pattern, it has come in late. The monsoon arrived at least a week before, and many farmers might have already chosen the crops to sow. The world over governments through their price support programmes, consisting of assured minimum prices and subsidies,...

Greenpeace, the non-governmental organisation, has claimed that farmers get more income if they cultivate organic cotton instead of Bt cotton. The NGO, which conducted a survey in three top cotton growing districts of Warangal, Karimnagar and Adilabad in Andhra Pradesh, said that the net income of organic cotton farmers is Rs 6,000 an acre, while Bt cotton farmers earned only Rs 2,000. “This is due to the higher cost of pesticides. Though...

In India, where traditionally boys have been preferred over girls, a village in backward Bihar state has been setting an example by planting trees to celebrate the birth of a girl child. In Dharhara village, Bhagalpur district, families plant a minimum of 10 trees whenever a girl child is born. And this practice is paying off. Nikah Kumari, 19, is all set to get married in early June. The would-be...

Three state governments are waging a legal battle against the seed industry over prices of Bt cotton seeds. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra have cases running in the state courts with the National Seeds Association of India for fixing prices of Bt cotton seeds. The association questioned the state governments’ authority in fixing prices, saying it would hamper seed research in the private sector.   It says only the Union government can...