-Frontline Farmers protest against the Central clearance for coal bed methane exploration in Mannargudi, Tamil Nadu, as they fear it will devastate agriculture in Tiruvarur and Thanjavur districts.  THE woes of the delta farmers of Tamil Nadu are far from over. While the Cauvery tangle continues unresolved, they fear the proposed multi-crore project for commercial exploration and exploitation of coal bed methane (CBM) in the Mannargudi block of Tiruvarur district will prove...

-Live Mint FDI or not, there are problems that plague Indian agriculture and will need to be fixed first  With the parliamentary vote on foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail out of the way, the government will proceed with the liberalization of this sector as it thinks it will improve the prospects of agriculture.   Should we be worried about our small neighbourhood stores shutting down? The fears are overblown. Organized large-format retail...

-Live Mint The solutions to India’s growth problems require a more holistic approach Whether rightly or wrongly, there is a growing critique of India’s current development strategy: of a top-down, trickle-down theory that rides on an extraordinary growth momentum. They are disparate, but when the dots are connected they do present a coherent reminder that this strategy may not be the best and, worse, it is not sustainable. To a large extent this...

-The Hindu Private companies get loansat 6.5% with additional cash refunds; for farmers it is 7% The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), which is dedicated to promoting rural development by providing soft loans to State governments for social sector projects, has given hundreds of crores as loans to corporates on concessional terms. In the Union Budget of 2011-12, Rs. 18,000 crore was allocated by the Centre to NABARD’s Rural Infrastructure...

-The United Nations Global wages remain far below pre-crisis levels, says a new United Nations report, which points to a continuing slowdown in developed countries alongside increases in emerging economies. The Global Wage Report 2012/13, released today by the International Labour Organization (ILO), shows that global monthly wages grew by 1.2 per cent in 2011, down from three per cent in 2007 and 2.1 per cent in 2010. It also cites huge...