Sometime this month, Justice N Ramamohana Rao of the Andhra Pradesh High Court will deliver a verdict that will directly impact earnings of the 114 million people who work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the Central government's work guarantee programme. The verdict will also indirectly impact earnings of the 400 million workers and labourers who toil in India's factories and fields for 'minimum wages'. The question Justice Rao...

Even as concerns are emerging about generalised inflation gripping the economy, with reports of rising wage rates, food price inflation remains the citizen’s core concern. Macroeconomic authorities have been chasing a variety of targets – monetary, fiscal and supply-side constraints – to get a better grip on prices. It is often hoped that higher prices would translate into increased production since farmers would respond positively to price signals. What then...

Union home minister P Chidambaram may consider UP as a block in India's development but the state contributes 30% in the national food basket, whereas it constitutes 16% of the land and 18% of the population. The good news is that the food share this year is all set to increase further with wheat harvest expected to be over 300 lakh metric tonnes. UP is country's top wheat producer and this...

The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices may recommend higher prices in its report. The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) may recommend higher minimum support price (MSP) for cotton and sunflower in its report. “Cost of production for most crops have gone up by 10-30 per cent over the last year, due to higher inputs costs like labour and fodder. Cotton has fetched higher market prices compared to its MSP...

A key government panel has warned that the country's overflowing grain bins will lead to a crisis if the government did not come up with a plan to dispose of the stored grain . The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) painted the grim picture in a presentation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week. It said the Centre, which is the biggest buyer of grain in the country, was sitting...