Cash transfers are now suggested by many as a silver bullet for addressing the problems that plague India’s anti-poverty programmes. This article argues instead for evidence-based policy and informed public debate to clarify the place, prospects and problems of cash transfers in India. By drawing on key empirical findings from academic and grey literature across the world an attempt is made to draw attention to three aspects of cash transfers...

-The Economic Times   As the government twiddles its thumbs on allowing export of surplus grains , wheat prices have plunged below not just the government's promised minimum support price but also the price of Maize. This has prompted poultry feed manufacturers to substitute wheat for Maize in their produce. So chicken will eat wheat this year. As prices stay depressed, farmers will switch from wheat to some other crop or just simply...

-The Economic Times   A repeat of the 2008 rice crisis that led to riots in the developing world cannot be ruled out as the cost of other agricultural goods surge, a research group has warned. The International Rice Research Institute said the global rice market was delicately balanced as the grain had managed to avoid huge price rises thanks to stable weather in rice growing regions. The cost of wheat surged 121...

-Mangalorean.com   Amid some misgivings here about India's acquisition of vast stretches of land, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi Wednesday rejected charges of land grab as "loose talk" and welcomed Indian investment for development. "There is no land grab and there will be no land grab. Indian companies should not be constrained by this loose talk," Zenawi, the longtime leader of Ethiopia, said at a joint press conference with Indian Prime Minister...

It is the improper mode of application, violating the law and regulations, that is responsible for the apparent adverse toxic effects of endosulfan. FROM a scientific perspective, an extremely pertinent question in the endosulfan story is why adverse health effects similar to those seen in the villages of Kasaragod district in Kerala have not been reported from other parts of the country where the pesticide is used in much larger...