Forget the rhetoric, the FM’s left little for core social sectors The Union finance minister’s enthusiasm in marking the roadmap to financial discipline and pushing reforms in Budget 2010 is somehow missing in his proposals for inclusive growth. These proposals lack the required homework—in referring to relevant literature, including some recent government reports, and in making estimates of the required funds—and certainly do not reflect much commitment to inclusive growth. Agriculture—which...

Indian farmers are known to be second to none when it comes to adoption of new technology. But, what is not so well-appreciated is that many of them are daring enough to take a break from traditional crops and venture into wholly new fields and make a success of it through their own ingenuity or with some institutional or state help. There are countless instances of such endeavours. The agriculture ministry...

Failure of kharif crop and mounting debts stated to be reasons  The interest rate on private loans ranges between 24 and 36 per cent The district witnessed 15 deaths in 3 days during November Sixty-nine farmers from Adilabad district committed suicide during the kharif season that lasted from August to November 2009 and the number grew to 93 by December 15, if reports from the non-governmental organisations and farmers’ associations in Andhra...

In March 2004, a group of Dalit women from Uttar Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region stood on a stage in a plush Delhi auditorium. Th-ey were honoured with the Chameli Devi Award for outstanding media work. The same year, three of their colleagues received fellowships from the Dalit Foundation in Delhi for reporting on issues related to the rights of the Dalit community. The women in question run Khabar Lahariya: an eight...

Spiralling prices of pulses have shown India’s dependence on imports. Pulses are integral to India’s diet but not its food policy. As a result, supply cannot meet demand. What are the consequences and solutions? Surendra Nath has switched to eating grass-pea, though he knows it is not good for health. But so is tobacco, he argues. He cannot do without pulses and pigeon-pea selling at Rs 100 a kg is beyond...