New rural development minister Jairam Ramesh is working to overhaul the United Progressive Alliance's six-year old flagship rural jobs programme to rid it of all 'manmade' flaws and make the job entitlement more demand driven. The Mahatma GandhiNational Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNERGA), which costs the government Rs 40,000 crore a year - the largest spend on any social welfare scheme - played a key role in catapulting theUPA government...
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'A-maizing' progress by Surinder Sud
Breakthroughs in the production and productivity of wheat and rice in the sixties and of cotton recently have been much appreciated, but similar advances in maize have gone largely unnoticed and unsung. Maize output has soared in the past 10 years from a mere 12 million tonnes in 2000-01 to over 21 million tonnes in 2010-11. This increase can largely be attributed to a surge in crop productivity rather than...
More »World Bank pledges $500 million for Horn of Africa region
-The Economic Times The World Bank on Monday pledged more than $500 million (348 million euros) to aid the Drought-strickenHorn of Africa region, asUnited Nations aid chiefs met in Rome to discuss ramping up relief efforts. The bulk of the money will go towards long-term projects to aid farmers while $12 million will be for immediate assistance to those worst hit by the crisis and facing starvation. "The recurring nature of Drought......
More »Food security law could push up world prices, widen subsidy bill by Surojit Gupta & Sidhartha
The proposed Food Security Act has the potential to stoke global food prices and significantly increase the country's food subsidy bill, officials and experts say. The government plans to introduce a legislation which aims to ensure food security for 75% of the rural households and 50% of the urban areas and includes both below poverty line and above poverty line families. Experts say that in case there is a Drought in future...
More »This Decade for Agriculture by Ashok Gulati
July is a month when we need to remind ourselves how reforms have changed India since 1991, from vulnerability to resilience, whether to external shocks (say, oil) or internal ones (Droughts). In 2009, we witnessed the worst Drought since 1972, yet the agricultural growth rate stayed positive (0.4%), nor did we resort to any major cereal imports. And in 2010-11, we are likely to have a record harvest of 241 million...
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