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...

Nearly 2 million children under five die every year of easily treatable diseases One-third of all malnourished children live in India “No real pressure for action because of lack of awareness” Eight out of 10 people among the middle class do not know that nearly two million children under five die every year of diseases and conditions that are easily treatable and preventable, says a new survey. The Global Movement for Children, a coalition...

The Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society, JeeVika, a state-led women’s self-help group, is active since 2007. Based on primary research, this article highlights the potential role of the individual rural woman – the didi – in driving the social and economic shifts necessary for sustainable poverty reduction in rural Bihar. The term didi is used to address an elder sister. It embodies the notion of respect. Traditionally, the term has remained...

The ongoing probe into illegal mining in Karnataka have revealed some startling facts, including the fact that transportation of ore has gone up two fold after a ban was imposed. Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde is probing the issue of illegal mining, which rocked the Parliament a couple of days ago. Justice Hegde, who is expected to submit his report on illegal mining in another four months, told rediff.com that the...

India's growth story in a crisis-hit world has been globally applauded. Still, the prime minister did well not to use his Independence Day address as a mere occasion for back-patting. This isn't yet "new India" where growth's gains percolate to every citizen. Not only must structural nuts and bolts be fixed before we get there, the economic blueprint itself needs a sharper reformist orientation. To its credit, the UPA has...