-Counterview.org There have been loud claims, which continue to be made till date, that agricultural growth in Gujarat has been a "success story", which other states must follow. It is also suggested that Gujarat's agricultural growth rose from 3.3 per cent per annum in the 1990s to nearly 9 per cent over the last one decade. The argument goes on: Gujarat has written the success story despite facing challenges like depletion...

Animals, which are used for food, fibre, labour etc. hold a special place in ensuring rural livelihoods. It has been found by the NSSO's 70th Round Report that among the agricultural households having less than 0.01 hectare land (which includes landless agricultural households too), a little above 1/5th reported livestock as their principal source of income whereas 56.4% depended on wage/ salaried employment. However, as the land size went up,...

-The Hindu Business Line ‘Pathetic'SITuation of the tea garden workers in West Bengal, Assam a major concern Labour reforms for the unorganised sector is a priority for the Narendra Modi government. And steps are being accordingly taken in this regard by the Centre, the Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Bandaru Dattatreya, said here. According to him, some of the steps taken include the setting up of the Shram Suvidha Portal...

-The Hindu Business Line   The CAG report details how these have neither helped industrial development nor boosted the economy Nearly a decade after the Special Economic Zones Act was brought into force, it is evident that the move has not helped industrial development. After examining SEZs in terms of background and objectives, fiscal incentives and facilities, approval process and administration, as well as life cycle, State-wise distribution and overall performance, parts of a...

-The Indian Express The SITuation Assessment Survey (SAS) of agricultural households, released last week by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), is the second one ever to be done. The SAS of 2003 was necesSITated by the agrarian crisis of the time. Farmer suicides had reached a peak, and the reference year for the survey, 2002-2003, had seen severe drought. The agricultural sector was in crisis, with growth rates slowing to...