-The Indian Express Central allocations for agriculture are less important than the state budgets. I took the night train to Delhi to participate in budget-day discussions and my co-passenger, who boarded the train in ravaged Punjab, asked me a simple question: “50 farmers are committing suicide everyday; will the budget end farmer suicides?” My answer was — and still is — “No.” The Union budget is just the government’s bookkeeping exercise...
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India sees rise in communal violence, UP leads states -Bharti Jain
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Communal violence witnessed a rise in 2015, with 751 incidents recorded across the country as against 644 in 2014. According to data put out by the government in reply to a Lok Sabha question on Wednesday, there was also a rise in casualties resulting from communal unrest last year, with dead and injured up at 97 and 2,264 from 95 and 1,921 respectively in 2014. Incidentally,...
More »Unemployment down in urban centres, but persists in rural areas, says survey -Samarth Bansal
-The Hindu 'Unemployment level in India is highest among those people who are richer and more educated.' The unemployment rate in urban areas reduced from 4.5 per cent in 2004-05 to 3.4 per cent in 2011-12, new data from the National Sample Survey Office show. In rural areas, the rate has been stable at around 1.7 per cent during this period. According to the survey, which was conducted in 2011-12 and released on...
More »WhatsApp friends are MP’s model farmers -Manoj Ahuja
-Hindustan Times Khargone (MP): At a time when the agriculture sector is in distress and farmer suicides have become common, a group of farmers from Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone are making use of social media network to practice modern farming, ensure best prices for their produce, and also prevent crop failure. The group – comprising more than 50 farmers – uses WhatsApp and Facebook to not only stay connected, but also to keep...
More »Eliminating Poverty in Bihar: Paradoxes, Bottlenecks and Solutions -Mihir Shah
-Economic and Political Weekly Mihir Shah (mihir.shah@nic.in) is Secretary, Samaj Pragati Sahayog, a grass-roots organisation based in Dewas District of Madhya Pradesh. A close examination of Bihar's recent growth experience reveals several paradoxes. These are paradoxes only with reference to certain orthodox positions widely held in development economics. Resolving these paradoxes helps formulate a more incisive understanding of what bottlenecks lie in the way of eliminating poverty in Bihar and opens the...
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