August is usually the preferred month for family holidays in Europe, because of abundant sunshine and warm weather. In India, normally, this is the south-west monsoon season and a busy period for farmers. This year, however, several farm families in coastal Andhra Pradesh, the rice bowl of the country, are reported to have declared ‘crop holiday’. This is because the rice mills have not been lifting even last years’ crop....
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MFIs: Still in the doldrums by Shruti Sarma
MFIs in Andhra Pradesh are paying for the sins of their past. Market for new loans has dried up, banks have turned off their spigots while the AP government is content to sit back and watch. It has been eleven months since the Andhra Pradesh government issued an ordinance—later converted into the Andhra Pradesh Micro-Finance Institutions (Regulation of Money Lending) Act—which, the microfinance industry hoped, would be the magic remedy that...
More »The land law and justice by Nitin Desai
The ever-energetic Jairam Ramesh has unveiled a new land acquisition policy for discussion. He has taken on the difficult task of changing an old law whose implementation has led to a sorry mess in Nandigram, Singur and Noida, to mention only a few of the recent cases that have hit the headlines. India’s policy regime for managing land rights and land transactions is totally dysfunctional. Greedy politicians in state governments have...
More »Food items, fuel, clothing more expensive in July
-PTI Select food items, fuel and clothing grew more expensive in July, leading to a 1.47 per cent rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) vis-a-vis the month of June to 110.4 points. The CPI, based on retail prices, stood at 108.8 points in June, as per data released by the government on Thursday. At the all-India level, the CPI for 'food, beverages and tobacco' went up by 1.57 per cent to 110.3...
More »Singur case: West Bengal to begin arguments today by Ananya Dutta
On petition filed by Tata Motors challenging the Constitutional validity of the Singur law The West Bengal government will commence its arguments on the petition filed by Tata Motors challenging the Constitutional validity of the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act 2011 before the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday. West Bengal's Advocate General Anindya Mitra will begin his submissions before Justice I. P. Mukerji followed by other counsel on the government's panel. Apart...
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