-TheWire.in Mexican economist David Barkin on India's neoliberal economics, growing inequalities, agrarian distress and more. David Barkin is Professor of Economics at the Metropolitan Autonomous University in Mexico City. He received his doctorate in economics from Yale University and was awarded the National Prize in Political Economics in 1979 for his analysis of inflation in Mexico. His research has focused on the development of an alternative to the capitalist economic model. In an...

-The Hindu Business Line Tested across AP, this technique, though devoid of chemicals, has helped boost productivity and cut production costs In the last fortnight, two announcements to revive the sagging farm sector evoked differing responses. While the announcement by the government to hike minimum support price for selected crops generated political noise, a more nuanced approach by NITI Aayog seeking State governments’ support in reducing cost of Crop Production was...

-Firstpost.com The recent increases in minimum support prices have attracted two criticisms from two opposite sides. One is that this is less than what farmers deserve, the second is that this is populist and ignores larger macro side effects. The increase in fair remunerative price for sugarcane has also been criticised for not adequately addressing the woes of the sugar sector. Ramesh Chand, member, agriculture, NITI Aayog talks to Firstpost on...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government's ambitious crop insurance scheme has proved to be a jackpot for insurance companies last year, which collectively earned 85 per cent profit (after excluding administrative and reinsurance expenses) during the 2017-18 kharif season. Kharif is an Indian cropping season which extends from July to October. 17 insurance firms (5 public and 12 private) empanelled under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) registered a...

-Livemint.com The actual determination of MSP is driven by a ‘business as usual’ practice of incremental increases in line with past trend, combined with the political need for ‘look good’ optics The recent increase in the minimum support prices (MSP) for major kharif crops has reignited the debate about food price policy. Some analysts believe that the increase has been excessive, that it will push up inflation, both directly and also indirectly...