Major foodgrains producing states have been the worst hit by rising prices, thanks to the Centre’s decision to pay more to farmers for their produce. Although inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), has been in double digits for nearly six months, there are several states where CPI in the rural region has been around 20%. A look at state-wise consumer price index numbers shows that pre-dominantly agri-based...

The prime minister, in his Independence Day address said: “I am happy that the Growth Rate of our agriculture has increased substantially in the last few years. But we are still far from achieving our goal. We need to work harder so that we can increase the agricultural Growth Rate to 4% per annum” . Is it possible? If so how? The production shortage of wheat in India in 2006...

The ubiquitousness of the mobile phone in urban areas and its spread in rural areas in India seem to have fed a notion — not substantiated by hard evidence — that there is a wide and deep market for such services in the countryside. Such a notion has remained largely unverified because of the scarcity of data on the extent of ownership of assets and access to services such as...

Sunita Laxman Jadhav is a door-to-door saleswoman who sells waiting. She sweeps along muddy village lanes in her nurse’s white sari, calling on newly married couples with an unblushing proposition: Wait two years before getting pregnant, and the government will thank you. It also will pay you. “I want to tell you about our honeymoon package,” began Ms. Jadhav, an auxiliary nurse, during a recent house call on a new bride in...

What are the poor most concerned about? After meeting families in 175 Indian villages in the last decade, Anirudh Krishna, says the poor's greatest worry is their children's future. With a manner of a school teacher, Professor Krishna, who teaches at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University in the US, has led a team meeting poor families to find out why poverty persists. The research also includes...