The disastrous effect of the state throwing up its hands and retreating is most starkly visible in agriculture . Remember: agriculture involves 70 per cent of the country's population , generates about 56 per cent of national income, 64 per cent of total expenditure and about one third of total savings. So, any neglect translates into gigantic costs. And the central crisis in agriculture — production barely matching a depressed...
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Power subsidy to farmers costs Rs 1,200 crore per annum
The farming community has welcomed chief minister M Karunanidhi's promise to supply free motors to small farmers. Cauvery Delta Farmers' Welfare Association secretary, S Ranganathan, said, "We appreciate the chief minister's gesture. I request the government to give submersible motors instead of mono-block ones. Also, a majority of small and marginal farmers don't have power connection. The state should look at the possibility of providing motors and power connections to...
More »Threat to a system by CP Chandrasekhar
The National Advisory Council's move to restrict universalisation of the PDS to the most disadvantaged districts may ultimately end up limiting its impact. RECENT weeks have seen rather contradictory statements on the challenge of ensuring food security and the set of feasible initiatives for managing the food economy. To start with, the National Advisory Council (NAC), which recognises the need for a universal public distribution system (PDS), and which was expected to...
More »Global youth unemployment rate at all-time high, UN labour agency reports
The global youth unemployment rate is at a record high and is expected to climb even higher as the year progresses, the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) announced today. According to a new report, of the world’s 620 million economically active youth between the ages of 15 and 24, 81 million were out of work at the end of 2009, the highest number ever. The youth unemployment rate climbed from 11.9...
More »Oliver Twist seeks food security by P Sainath
The NREGS is restricted. The PDS is targeted. Only exploitation is universal. The rotting of lakhs of tonnes of foodgrain in open yards, while shocking, is hardly new or surprising. Remember the rural poor marching on godowns in Andhra Pradesh in 2001 in similar circumstances? The Supreme Court was quite right in jolting the Union government. “In a country where admittedly people are starving, it is a crime to waste even...
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