-Frontline.in Interview with Utsa Patnaik, professor emerita of economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University. By T.K. RAJALAKSHMI THE FALLOUT of the decision of the National Democratic Alliance government to demonetise currency of higher denominations has been felt across all sections of people. There are concerns that it will lead to an overall economic slowdown given the acute shortage of currency for industrial and agricultural operations. The impact on agriculture and those dependent on agriculture...

-The Telegraph Ahmedabad: Tens of thousands of Bengali artisans employed in Gujarat's jewellery-making units are returning home because demonetisation has reduced sales by more than 90 per cent and left them without work and, therefore, pay. About 60,000 of the one lakh-odd Bengali artisans who work in Ahmedabad's big and small gold factories have already left. The situation is similar in Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara and small towns like Kalol and Bhuj, where...

-The Hindu   “State government will combine the Act’s essential provisions with some of its traditional practices”   Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government had faced Hobson’s choice before it decided to implement the National Food Security Act (NFSA). A few weeks ago, the government was administered a shock when it got a letter from the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, stating that with effect from November, the State would no...

-The Indian Express Paddy growers in the poll-bound state suffer huge losses from unanticipated insect pest attack. Jalandhar: For Punjab’s farmers, fortune always seems to smile on the other side. Last year, it was the whitefly sucking pest that ravaged their cotton crop. This time round, it’s the brown plant hopper (BPH) that has caused significant yield and price realisation losses for paddy grown in large swathes of the state. And there...

-The Indian Express But per capita meat consumption remains relatively low. This has implications for nutritional and food security. In the eyes of the world, India is seen as a vegetarian country. Presumably, this impression has been created by our best brand ambassadors from political, spiritual and yoga circles. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a strict vegetarian. The popular yoga guru, Baba Ramdev, and many other Hindu religious leaders too, are vegetarians...