-Economic and Political Weekly A survey to identify who the Poor are and how many are actually Poor is necessary if programmes and benefits targeted at the needy are to reach them. The Socio Economic Caste Census, of which partial results have been published, was intended to do this. Yet, even a cursory look at the figures indicates that they call for a willing suspension of disbelief. N C Saxena (naresh.saxena@gmail.com) was...
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Properly used, Jan Dhan Yojna could lessen farmers' suicides
-Hindustan Times For a country that is set to be ranked among the world’s top five economies over the next decade, India cannot afford to be counted as a home for impoverished farmers who are ending their lives because they do not have the money to return loans as small as Rs 10,000. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, 5,650 farmers committed suicide in India last year. Bankruptcy and...
More »Food Security Act starved for growth, functional in just 7 states -Zia Haq
-Hindustan Times Two years after its unanimous passage, the landmark National Food Security Act, which guarantees cheap foodgrains to two-thirds of Indians, remains largely unimplemented, research by the Hindustan Times shows. Only seven states have implemented its core provisions fully (see graphic). Five others have partially executed it, while the NDA government has stalled its rollout in the remaining states, extending the deadline for implementation thrice so far. Another extension looks likely...
More »India working with WTO for permanent solution on food security
-PTI NEW DELHI: India is working with the WTO members to ensure an early permanent solution on the food security issue, parliament was informed today. "India is working with the WTO members to ensure a permanent solution at the earliest," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. Ending months-long deadlock, the WTO in November last year acceded to India's demand to remove constraints on the...
More »Did the number of farmer suicides really halve last year? -Sayantan Bera
-Livemint.com Change of definition behind fall rather than plan for bettering lot of Poor farmers, improving agricultural economy New Delhi: Between 2013 and 2014, the number of farmer suicides halved. That’s what the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) which tracks farmer suicides would have us believe. It isn’t an improvement in India’s agricultural economy or a programme aimed at bettering the lot of Poor farmers that has achieved this. Instead, it is a...
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