-The Indian Express Government’s insistence on acquisition is rooted in a rush to impose the Gujarat model on the rest of India. The development agenda of the Narendra Modi government implies industrialisation. The BJP’s 2014 mandate was indeed for job creation. The “neo-middle class”, which Modi defined when he was CM of Gujarat as made up of aspiring city dwellers who have just emerged from poverty, supported him more widely than the...

-Livemint.com Politics and bad economics have led to the current agricultural crisis in India With around 65% of India’s agriculture depending on rain and more than half the Population on agriculture, too little or too much rain is always a harbinger of trouble. On occasions like these, accusations of the government of the day being anti-farmer replace all other charges in polemics. Something similar has happened this year, as erratic weather has...

-Hindustan Times London: With the global Population expected to touch 9 billion by 2050, food from forests in India and elsewhere have potential to address needs of nutrition and food security at a time when the limits of boosting agricultural production are becoming increasingly clear. A new report produced by an international panel led by Bhaskar Vira, an expert based at the University of Cambridge, says that  despite impressive productivity increases, there...

-PTI The government on Wednesday said it has put in place a contingency plan for 580 districts to tackle any situation arising out of below-normal monsoon. As per the weather department forecast, monsoon would be below normal this year due to an impact of El Nino. Monsoon rains are expected to arrive on time this year, hitting Kerala on June 1. Last year, the country had received 12 per cent less rains, affecting production...

-The New Indian Express The financial distress in the rural sector, especially borne by the farmers and reflected in farmer suicides, is a matter of concern for the nation. The rural economy housing nearly two-thirds of the Population is vital for the development of the nation as it not only supplies food for consumption but also provides a market for industrial output. The rural people, due to lack of awareness of...