Media, especially the electronic one, has found a special mention in Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia's views on the 12th five-year Plan. But, his feedback hasn't been all that flattering. The electronic media has been hauled up for 'disproportionately' showing widening disparities between the rich and the poor. "The perception of concentration of wealth and widening disparities is sharpened by the tendency of the media, including especially the...

Even as she said that she would welcome the Tatas setting up a unit at Singur, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said here on Wednesday that the agreement signed between Tata Motors and the previous government for the Nano project would be put in the public domain within a day or two. Briefing the Press after her second Cabinet meeting since assuming office last weekend, she said: “As a reciprocal gesture, I...

-The Business Standard   Only anecdotal evidence has been available so far to back the assertion that there has been a sharp rise in agricultural wages. Now, field data bear out the trend. Collected by the Shimla-based Labour Bureau, these numbers show a roughly 50 per cent cumulative rise in rural labour wages in the past two years. The increase in Andhra Pradesh has been assessed at over 40 per cent...

-Live Mint   After the late Charan Singh, he was the moving force behind the formidable farm lobby in north India. Seen from that vantage, one could say he became a leader in his own right only after Singh left the stage Mahendra Singh Tikait’s political career took off long after productivity growth in Green Revolution had begun to taper off. The career of this rich farmers’ leader—who died on Sunday—was emblematic...

The chairman of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), Ashok Gulati, is a well-known proponent of reforms and an agricultural economist with diverse experience. Prior to taking charge of CACP, he was the International Food Policy Research Institute director in Asia. In an interview, Gulati spoke about the urgency for initiating reforms in the agricultural sector and made a strong case for intervention to check falling wheat prices either...