The writer is chair professor for agriculture at ICRIER. Views are personal

February 19, 2024 07:44 IST
The first necessary policy action is to remove all bans on agri-exports, stocking limits on private trade, and stop unloading wheat and rice in the open market at below the economic cost of the Food Corporation of India. These are all anti-farmer policies
Mon, Feb 19, 2024
February 05, 2024 07:45 IST
Combining MGNREGA with PM Awas Yojana could ensure every household a reasonably good shelter
Mon, Feb 05, 2024
February 02, 2024 07:07 IST
Allocation for agriculture hasn't gone up, subsidies haven't been rationalised. One only hopes that the July budget will have major announcements for farmers and make agriculture vibrant and sustainable
Fri, Feb 02, 2024
January 22, 2024 07:35 IST
The litmus test of employment hinges on real wage rates, and we have seen from the government data that in rural areas, real wages have had negative growth in the last five years of the Modi-2 period. This needs urgent attention and further research to create more employment-intensive growth processes
Mon, Jan 22, 2024
January 08, 2024 07:20 IST
That multidimensional poverty has declined is good news. But income poverty, which has remained defiantly high for the last five years, must be fixed
Mon, Jan 08, 2024
December 25, 2023 08:00 IST
If it stays the course, keeping an eye on growth with contained inflation, focusing more on investments and innovations than doles, this vision can materialise by 2047
Mon, Dec 25, 2023
December 11, 2023 07:35 IST
This is a lesson for other states as well as for policymakers at the Centre to keep agriculture on high priority
Mon, Dec 11, 2023
November 27, 2023 07:19 IST
Can the EC or SC form taxpayers’ committees in poll-bound states to evaluate how many of the promises made by major political parties are rational welfare measures, and how many are simply ‘bribes for votes’ to educate the electorate? Ultimately, it is taxpayers’ money
Fri, Dec 01, 2023
November 11, 2023 07:07 IST
Delhi’s pollution will also have to be tackled by replacing modes of transport, from fossil-fuel-based vehicles to electric vehicles, or at least 20 per cent ethanol blending in all Delhi’s petrol pumps
Sat, Nov 11, 2023
October 30, 2023 07:47 IST
There is no dearth of money being spent on agriculture or consumers to have food security. But the manner in which that money is spent is suboptimal. Our policy makers, in competitive populism mode, feel that they can come back to power through such doles
Mon, Oct 30, 2023
October 16, 2023 04:50 IST
It will require rewarding farmers to switch from irrigation-heavy crops like paddy and sugarcane to less water-intensive crops like millets, pulses and oilseeds
Mon, Oct 16, 2023
October 03, 2023 04:50 IST
Better technology and policies must be deployed to ensure farmers get their due. Abrupt export bans or stocking limits are not the best way forward
Tue, Oct 03, 2023
September 29, 2023 07:07 IST
Challenge today is to continue Swaminathan's legacy, improve farmers' profitability during times of climate change
Fri, Sep 29, 2023
September 18, 2023 05:20 IST
With Africa’s inclusion in G20, the challenges posed by rapid population growth, persistent poverty, and widespread undernourishment become more serious. Initiating a comparative analysis could foster South-South learning
Mon, Sep 18, 2023
September 04, 2023 07:00 IST
If India can demonstrate the application of precision technologies in space, with Chandrayaan-3 by spending a fraction of the cost that the US would incur, why can’t the country use the same principle to develop technologies to help farmers overcome the challenges of extreme weather events?
Mon, Sep 04, 2023
August 21, 2023 07:45 IST
Accelerating economic growth and making it more inclusive, coupled with an increase in farm productivity, can help end malnutrition
Mon, Aug 21, 2023
August 07, 2023 07:45 IST
The real challenge for the government is to raise per capita incomes. And for politics to jettison competitive populism
Mon, Aug 07, 2023
July 24, 2023 07:16 IST
Export bans, stocking limits can be counterproductive. India needs to use import policy liberally
Mon, Jul 24, 2023
July 10, 2023 07:30 IST
India seems ready to take on El Nino. But vegetable prices are a matter of concern
Mon, Jul 10, 2023
June 26, 2023 07:00 IST
It’s time that the deepening relations between the two expand to take on the challenges of climate change and food security
Tue, Jun 27, 2023
June 12, 2023 07:00 IST
Their performance in terms of GDP growth has been somewhat subdued compared to the UPA. But it has done better in taming inflation, keeping agri-growth respectable, and implementing welfare schemes.
Mon, Jun 12, 2023
May 29, 2023 07:35 IST
Savings from reduction in fertiliser and power subsidies can be ploughed into agricultural research, improve food and nutritional security in the face of climate change
Mon, May 29, 2023
May 15, 2023 07:00 IST
Inflation is coming down. But to account for the vagaries of the monsoon, policymakers must check the prices of cereals and milk
Mon, May 15, 2023
May 01, 2023 06:55 IST
PDS can be leveraged to provide beneficiaries with nutritious food, purchased through targeted electronic vouchers
Mon, May 01, 2023
April 17, 2023 06:55 IST
It can be kept under check if India uses trade policy wisely, and does not resort to knee-jerk methods
Mon, Apr 17, 2023




