The Budget season is in full swing and allocations for various sectors being hotly debated upon both by policy makers and the public at large. What is important to remind ourselves, is that where this will lead this country of over one billion, facing challenges of balancing economic growth with social justice and equity. Food Security has moved from an issue of the poor and hungry and those who advocate their cause...

Asit Tripathy, Chairman of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has pointed out that Indian states need to promote contract farming to ensure that farmers get remunerative prices and assured market for their produce apart from getting freed from the clutches of middlemen. India's national agricultural policy also envisages private participation through contract farming and land leasing arrangements to allow accelerated technology transfer, capital inflow and assured market...

India has become the first country in the world to incorporate Tsunami proofing for environmental clearances of major projects, after titanic Tsunami devastated key projects in Japan this month. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Thursday asked the Expert Appraisal Committees, mandated to given environment clearances to projects, to include tsunami related risks in the terms of reference for Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) reports for four sectors --- nuclear power, infrastructure,...

Releasing the election manifesto here on Wednesday, West Bengal Left Front Committee Chairman Biman Bose said the eighth Left Front government will focus on “agriculture, industry, peace, democracy and progress,” in the State if it returns to power. Listing the objectives of the Front in the coming five years, the manifesto states that it wants to ensure that West Bengal is one of the top-ranked States on the three parameters of...

It is time for the National Advisory Council (NAC) to introspect whether its pious thoughts on food security square up to an economic reality check. There are three likely scenarios: (1) universal coverage at 35 kg/per month per family; (2) universal coverage with 25 kg per family per month; and (3) partial coverage (say, to 11 crore families) with 35 kg per family per month. In each case, the implications...