-Economic and Political Weekly The government has notified a Draft Land Reforms Policy which, on paper, has all the requisites of an earnest programme. Yet, the near total failure of earlier efforts at land reforms in India leave little room for hope that something substantial will at last be done to combat landlessness. Harsh Mander (manderharsh@gmail.com) is with the Centre for Equity Studies, New Delhi, and works with survivors of mass violence,...

-The Hindu While the UPA is showcasing cash transfers as a key initiative and has even made a provision for it in the National Food Security Bill (NFSB), there is a strong resistance to it. Major Opposition parties are moving amendments against cash transfers, food coupons and cash allowances in lieu of food even as the law is to come up for approval. So far, Delhi and Bihar are keen on providing cash...

-Live Mint The absence of genuine competition at mandis and numerous transaction charges are distorting onion prices The joke doing the rounds today is that the spike in onion prices has been a great equalizer, bringing parity between the price of a bottle of beer and a kilo of onion. The humble vegetable has also found pride of place as a gift item to customers at a tyre shop in Jamshedpur,...

-The Indian Express To reduce poverty, India needs to concentrate on promoting healthcare and education of the poor It is sometimes argued that a country such as India, aiming to eliminate absolute poverty, should only be concerned about economic growth, and not worry about inequality. Is that right? Yes, growth is (typically) good for the poor but it is no less true that inequality is (typically) bad for the poor. There is little...

-Tehelka.com The Sen-Bhagwati ‘debate' on economic policy is focussing on the wrong issues Several things are quite remarkable about the recent debate between Professor Amartya Sen and Professor Jagdish Bhagwati. The first surprise is that such a debate could become a major news item at all, making headlines and filling screen time on news channels, when it is about economic strategies that are normally discussed only in relatively small academic and policy...