-The Hindu A study shows that Indians are not immune to health consequences of smoking and that smokers have a higher death rate than non-smokers. Recently, a parliamentary committee declined to extend the size of health warnings on cigarette packets due to lack of independent evidence on the health impacts of smoking on the Indian population. A longitudinal study conducted by the National Council of Applied Economics (NCAER) and University of Maryland shows that in...

-The Indian Express The debate on the land acquisition bill and the tragic suicide of a farmer in Delhi compel us to reflect on a theme of enduring significance: the role of agriculture and farmers in development. What has the historical experience all over the world been? How is India’s agrarian narrative different — or identical? What can India learn from international experience? Many years ago, I wrote a book, Democracy, Development...

-FirstPost.com "Spray 50 parts per million of Gibberellic ralic acid, 6BA and 0050 grade potassium on leaves. Apply muriate of potash at the rate of 25 kg per acre." Almost every morning, Sanjeev Mane sends messages like these in Marathi to his 5,100 followers on Whatsapp in Maharashtra and the border areas. The post above, of 20 April, was advice to farmers on preparing their cane crop for the summer season. Cheap Internet...

-The Indian Express While the Home Ministry has decided to put grants from US-based Ford Foundation under the “prior approval category” and also on its watch list in the interest of “national security”, some government-backed educational and research institutes that receive grants from the Foundation have said the US-based organisation helped build institutions in India. Among the beneficiaries of such grants are at least 10 that are also funded and supported by...

-The Hindu What makes public policy exciting and potentially inventive is the contested nature of the public sphere. It is anchored in a diversity of perspectives which challenges the dominance of one subject. India is a country full of paradoxes. The elite in the country are forward-looking; they emphasise the need for reskilling but they conduct all this with backward-looking institutions. An acute observer once said: "we want to be [a] knowledge...