Inflation in vegetables to come down to 7% by March Modernisation of agricultural marketing is important when dealing with inflation in the long run, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the planning commission, said here today. “The present system of intermediation is high costs and an efficient supply chain. Stress has to be laid on ensuring that farmers are able to realize higher margins, while consumers are able to get cheaper commodities”,...
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Rethinking farm for better health by Shenggen Fan & M S Swaminathan
It is time for us to take a hard look at our agricultural system. We are not yet reliving the food crisis of 2007-08 , but food prices are surging, with global prices for wheat and maize rising by 75% and 60%, respectively, from June to December 2010. Meanwhile, nearly 1 billion people worldwide are going hungry. The obvious solution to many of our food-related ills is to accelerate agricultural growth....
More »The tenacity of hope by Dipankar Gupta
Since Cairo took to the streets, there is one question that comes up repeatedly in India. How have we been saved from such anarchy, in spite of our faltering democracy? True, Egypt's growth, between 5% and 7%, has been less spectacular than ours. But its per capita income swelled from $587 in 1981 to $1461 in 2001. Even its deficit as a percentage of GDP has fallen from 10.2% in...
More »Plugging the leaks in rural job plan
On the fifth birth anniversary of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) last Wednesday, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi admitted discrepancies in the biggest job guarantee scheme in the world. Gandhi, who is also National Advisory Council (NAC) chief, was referring to fake job cards, forged muster rolls and funds swindled by village heads, officials, etc. She was quick to pinpoint the course correction — a strengthened social audit....
More »Need for efforts to bring street children to schools
Street children collecting garbage scattered on roads near Sunderpur-Bazardiha area. The schoolchildren in the area celebrating Saraswati Puja on Tuesday. The two pictures in contrast reveal the sorry state of affairs when it comes to education for the underprivileged kids. The provisions of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which came into force on April 1, 2010, call for free and compulsory education to children between 6 to 14 years...
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