-Economic and Political Weekly   The rural labour market is undergoing significant changes mainly due to rising employment opportunities outside agriculture. The real wage rate for farm as well as non-farm rural labour is moving upwards. This has serious implications for the farm sector. This study examines the trend and pattern of rural labour diversification and identifies the underlying factors for this change. The movement of workers outside the agriculture sector was...

-The Guardian International Monetary Fund paper dismisses rightwing argument that redistributing incomes is self-defeating   The International Monetary Fund has backed economists who argue that inequality is a drag on Growth in a discussion paper that has also dismissed rightwing theories that efforts to redistribute incomes are self-defeating. The Washington-based organisation, which advises governments on sustainable Growth, said countries with high levels of inequality suffered lower Growth than nations that distributed incomes more evenly. Backing...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government spends Rs 3.65 to deliver Re 1 of food while 57% of subsidized food grains do not reach the intended beneficiaries. These startling findings by the Independent Evaluation Office point to massive corruption and pilferages in the existing public distribution system. The agency's initial findings reveals that close to 36% of food grains are siphoned off in the supply chain, raising a serious question...

-ManipurTimes.com Ningthoujam Kumar Mangang, a hardworking man from Manipur set off on a rare mission, to introduce the goodness and its advantages of 'Black-Gold' in the state, and now he contributes nearly 360 metric tons of 'Black-Gold' per year in the state. Kumar works starting his day early to travel nearly 25 km from home to oversee his black-gold field, with a size of around one acre at Nongdum of Imphal...

-The Hindu There are obviously several dimensions to India's recent agricultural performance which Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in his budget speech termed as "stellar". A week before the budget, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had announced that foodgrain production is on course to touch a new record of 263 million tonnes, up from 255.36 million tonnes last year. The good performance is seen with regard to other crops too. Estimates of...