-Frontline The inability to resolve pressing problems with respect to the production, distribution and availability of food is one of the important failures of the entire economic reform process. IN the fateful month of July 1991, when the devaluation of the Indian rupee presaged the introduction of a whole series of liberalising economic reforms, agriculture was very far from the minds of most policymakers and commentators. The immediate focus was on...

The education level among the disabled stands far below that of the general population. Latest data from the Census 2011 confirms this. It shows that only 54.5 percent of the disabled aged seven years or above could read and write with understanding. (Please see table 1). As per the Census 2011, the population of disabled in the country is 2.68 crore, out of which about 1.22 crore are illiteRATe and 1.46...

-The Hindu India needs to formulate adaptation stRATegies to global warming at the State level and demonstRATe if and how these could be meaningful for the country as a whole Kicking off to a warm start, the first few months of 2016 were close to 1.5° Celsius higher than average global tempeRATures for at least 10,000 years prior to the 19th century. At the Paris Conference of Parties (COP-21) last December, world...

-The Hindu The government must target labour market rigidities to maximise gainful employment in the textile sector. India’s textile and apparel industry is all set for an overhaul as the new National Textile Policy will soon be placed before the Cabinet for approval. The government has already accepted a Rs.60 billion special package for this sector with an aim to create 10 million new jobs in the next three years, attract investments...

-The Hindu Business Line India has eased entry barriers after losing WTO case to the US Chennai/ Hyderabad: As dumping of chicken legs by the US becomes imminent after India lost the case at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Rs. 50,000-crore domestic poultry industry proposes to approach the Centre seeking protection of its interests. “There is no level playing field. We are planning to ask the government to either ban import of...