In the financial year 2017-18 when tractor sales touched new heights, it was said by many of the NDA (viz. National Democratic Alliance) government supporters that rural demand has revived on account of adequate monsoon rainfall and higher minimum support prices for crops. Many economists and newspaper columnists also denied the existence of any rural distress. An alternative perspective, however, was also presented by rural economists like Dr. Himanshu who teaches...

-National Herald/ IANS Swadeshi Jagran Manch, the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has hit out at the Reserve Bank of India for not lowering rate of interest even when the inflation is down to 2%, holding it responsible for the current slowdown in the economy. "The RBI has been the major reason for the slowdown. The Monetary Policy Committee of the RBI has been working on the wrong model and...

-The Times of India Average food prices in 2018-19 were almost the same as they were in 2017-18—a phenomenon not seen for at least 27 years. An analysis by credit rating agency Crisil shows food inflation measured by the consumer price index rose only 0.1% in 2018-19. The last time annual food inflation had fallen below 1% was in 1999-2000. Economists attribute low food prices to a string of factors including bumper...

-The Telegraph In the long term, the only real solution to rural distress is to shift labour to more productive segments of the economy It has turned into an open season for farm loan waivers. Less than a week after assuming office, Congress governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have announced the waiver of crop loans up to two lakh rupees per farmer. The Congress president, Rahul Gandhi, has thrown down...

-The Indian Express On October 30, at the meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council chaired by Jaitley and attended by Urjit Patel among others, the central bank is learnt to have downplayed the issue of liquidity crunch. While the Reserve Bank of India said two weeks ago that there is no sign of a liquidity crunch, its own latest data shows that banks’ credit outstanding to the Micro, Small and...