-The Hindu Jalna (Maharashtra): An angry silence greets one on entering the village of Dhasalgaon in Jalna district. Perpetuating agrarian crises for the last three years have made the once-proud farmers of this village poor. Despite the newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party government's announcement that it seek a Rs. 4,500-crore package from the Centre, farmers in Jalna have wearied of the lip service that Mumbai's mandarins have been paying them for the...

-Economic and Political Weekly   The runaway growth in states of subsidised solar pumps, which provide quality energy at near-zero marginal cost, can pose a bigger threat of groundwater over-exploitation than free power has done so far. The best way to meet this threat is by paying farmers to "grow" solar power as a remunerative cash crop. Doing so can reduce pressure on aquifers, cut the subsidy burden on electricity companies, reduce...

-The Hindu Business Line There has to be a reasonable compromise between the two In seeking to industrialise in a hurry, the government is pushing for changes in land acquisition and environment laws that are politically shortsighted and economically flawed. The proposed changes in the Right to Fair Compensation in the Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act involve diluting the consent clause in the case of PPP projects to 50 per cent...

-IPS News SUNDARBANS: November is the cruelest month for landless families in the Indian Sundarbans, the largest single block of tidal mangrove forest in the world lying primarily in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. There is little agricultural wage-work to be found, and the village moneylender's loan remains unpaid, its interest mounting. The paddy harvest is a month away, pushing rice prices to an annual high. For those like Namita Bera,...

-The Telegraph Bihar: Santosh Thakur, a middle-aged farmer from Karsi village in Dinara block of Rohtas district - famously known as the part of Bihar's rice bowl - is as hapless this kharif season as he has always been. He is forced to sell his paddy at Rs 950-1,000 per quintal to middlemen against the stipulated procurement price of Rs 1,360 per quintal. Why are you selling your produce at such a low...