-The Indian Express The view of MGNREGA as a makeshift work programme is far off the mark. Few social programmes in India are more resented by the corporate sector than the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). This is easy to understand, considering that one of the primary aims of the MGNREGA is to empower workers and reduce their dependence on private employers. Naturally, employers see this as a threat...

-The Financial Express It is clear from global experience that crop insurance is not economically viable and, in a country like India which is dominated by small landholders, it does not even seem to be feasible The demand for crop insurance stems from two ‘risky’ situations that often erode farmers’ income and make them vulnerable to economic distress. These include unpredictable weather and volatile prices. Although vulnerability of Indian agriculture on weather-related...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: A joint parliamentary panel examining the Narendra Modi government's land acquisition bill has been flooded with objections to the proposed legislation from those who have deposed before it so far, sources have said. The Confederation of Indian Industry is the only one among 34 individuals and organisations to have supported the changes the bill seeks to make to the current law, passed in December 2013 under UPA rule,...

-Business Standard Spread of irrigation, rise in drought-tolerant seeds have come as saviour, says study The southwest monsoon might have made a good start, but its future looks bleak, with many models predicting a let up in showers around the first week of July. The picture for north-west India, the country's premier paddy-producing region, looks gloomier with most weather forecasts predicting below-normal rains in the region this year. However, how far will...

-Livemint.com   Sharp agriculture growth is a necessary factor to beat anti-incumbency The modest price hike in minimum support prices of some crops this week has been lauded as good Economics. But the question that will be haunting the government is whether it has done enough to alleviate the distress in rural areas, especially when the Bihar polls later this year are seen as a litmus test for the rule of the...