-Economic and Political Weekly Unlimited growth for prosperity in a fi nite planet is not possible. Ecological economists like Tim Jackson, Peter Victor, and others talk about prosperity without growth and highlight the need for greening the economy on a community scale. Using the "criteria of green economy enterprise" set by Jackson and Victor as a tool, this article looks at khadi production, India's community-level cloth production system. Sumanas Koulagi (k.sumanas@yahoo.in) is...
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When statistics lie -Paranjoy Guha Thakurta
-The Asian Age The much-quoted sentence, "there are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics", was attributed to the 19th century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli by American author Mark Twain. Although researchers could never find such a statement in any written work of Disraeli, the sentence gained universal popularity to signify how economists and other number-crunchers use the "persuasive power" of figures to make a political point or...
More »Failing the farmer -CP Chandrasekhar
-Frontline Outcomes of the patterns of growth induced by neoliberal economic reforms have increased the disproportionality between agricultural and non-agricultural growth, and with costs rising and prices not keeping pace, agriculture is becoming increasingly unviable. FARMERS across northern and central India-in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and elsewhere-are distressed. Unseasonal rains have damaged their standing crop and help from the government has been meagre and slow in coming. This, however, is...
More »Govt panel seeks MSP revamp, safety net to mitigate risks to farmers -Sayantan Bera
-LiveMint.com Panel suggests floor price for foodgrain at a 10% premium to costs; safety net to kick in if prices fall below MSP New Delhi: In what could restore the Terms of Trade in favour of agriculture, a government panel has recommended a new cost-linked minimum support price (MSP) and a safety net for farmers. The recommended MSP, or the floor price for foodgrain, will be at a 10% premium to costs,...
More »Bursting the myths on Indian agriculture -Rakesh Rao
-Business Standard Though Indian agriculture has grown to be second largest globally, there are many myths and misconceptions. So, let's find the truth. Though the government over the past few years has been focusing on enhancing manufacturing sector's share to India's GDP, contribution of agriculture to the GDP continues to be higher than that of the manufacturing. India has in abundant four critical fundamental resources - light, land, water & labour. Contrary...
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