An unnecessary controversy has been started by the release of the poverty estimates of 2009-10 by the planning commission. The controversy, which was entirely avoidable, was allowed to go on because of the poor handling of the issue by the planning commission. It is unfortunate that the planning commission was less than willing to own the Tendulkar committee report which was submitted in December 2009 and accepted by the commission...

-The Economic Times Fertiliser will continue to be a key input in the crop production system as there are no alternatives to meet nutritional requirement of crops. Post-Independence, a substantial increase in indigenous production and Consumption of urea and a range of P and K fertilisers made the country self-reliant both in fertiliser and food grain production. But farm production is stagnant though fertiliser use has been rising. The bone of...

The northern region of Gujarat State in western India is semi-arid and prone to droughts, receiving almost all of its rain during the monsoon season between June and September. But for the past three decades, many crop and dairy farms have remained green—even during the dry season. That's because farmers have invested in wells and pumps, using massive amounts of electricity to extract water from deep aquifers. The government has artificially propped...

-The Economic Times Repressed, unrevised retail prices by fiat have led to rising diesel Consumption nationwide, thoroughly misallocating resources and recklessly fretting away scarce budgetary funds in the bargain. The government needs to promptly decontrol diesel prices and put paid to open-ended oil Consumption subsidies, as it has rightly proposed to in the Union Budget.  Further dither and non-decision would wreak havoc in government finances and hook the fiscal deficit figure over...

The professional divide on Tendulkar's estimation goes a long way back A committee is being set up to devise yet another methodology to estimate poverty in India. The step has led to some unhappiness among economists and experts that it amounts to junking the services and competence of an expert like the late Suresh Tendulkar, whose study is sought to be replaced. Under pressure from all sides over its estimate of people...