-The Hindu Business Line The risk of water availability is a painful reality in south Asian agriculture including India. Any deviation from the monsoon causes problems for the farm community and poses threat to food security in the region. The variability in precipitation in India has actually increased in recent years. While comparing the variability of precipitation (given by standard deviation) between two phases, 1950-75 and 1976-2010, in two geographically dispersed districts...

-The Guardian International Monetary Fund paper dismisses rightwing argument that redistributing incomes is self-defeating   The International Monetary Fund has backed economists who argue that inequality is a drag on growth in a discussion paper that has also dismissed rightwing theories that efforts to redistribute incomes are self-defeating. The Washington-based organisation, which advises governments on sustainable growth, said countries with high levels of inequality suffered lower growth than nations that distributed incomes more evenly. Backing...

-The Hindu There are obviously several dimensions to India's recent agricultural performance which Finance Minister P. ChiDambaram in his budget speech termed as "stellar". A week before the budget, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had announced that foodgrain production is on course to touch a new record of 263 million tonnes, up from 255.36 million tonnes last year. The good performance is seen with regard to other crops too. Estimates of...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Consumers can soon engage a non-advocate or an NGO to fight their case in consumer forums. However, such agents can't charge arbitrary fees. The charges will be decided by presidents of the relevant forums. The grounds to be considered while deciding fees will include the paying capacity of clients, skill of the agent and complexity of the case. In a recent notification, the consumer affairs ministry...

-The Business Standard It is an inconvenient truth that the poorest people in India live in the country's richest forests. The management of this green wealth has not brought any benefits to the locals Forests have been blacked out in the economic assessment of the country. The Economic Survey does not even list forestry as a sector, for which accounts are prepared. Instead, it is lumped together with agriculture and fisheries. In...