On the defensive at Cancun?
Recently Arun Jaitley identified agriculture and investment as the two main issues for next month's World Trade Organization ministerial …
Locating the State
In September 2004, Down To Earth carried a two-part editorial on the failure of the State to deliver basic services. In the September 15, 2004 …
Book review: Inventing Global Ecology by Michael Lewis
In the 1950s and 1960s India used to import not only subsidised sewing needles and milk, but also wildlife conservation science from the US. …
Don't need subsidies, give us the right price
For most Indians, Mahendra Singh Tikait is the man who brought Delhi to its knees in 1988 with a rally that brought the national capital face to …
No concrete plans
The Centre for Science and Environment's Green Rating Project team has rated the cement industry. Its findings uncovered some surprises. The …
New milky way
Private players are entering the Indian dairy market in a big way. Dairy cooperatives, which ushered in the White Revolution, need to expand and …
Maize Mania
Maize has become the queen of cereals, courted by state governments, seed companies, farmers and the feedstock and starch industries as the crop …
‘There is not enough milk’
Amrita Patel was part of the White Revolution that made India self-sufficient in milk. She joined Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers’…
Bill will push PDS reform
Development economist JEAN DREZE, known for his work on issues such as hunger, famine, social and human development in India, child health and …
On privatising water
What about privatising water? Should India move to do it? What tips the scales in its favour, and what doesn't? In 2003, two editorials in Down …
Private affairs
The invitation was innocuous. The Confederation of Indian Industry (cii) -- the grouping of the large and most powerful industries -- was …
Unravelling the food mess
Reaching food to people who need it the most has remained one of the most stubborn problems in India. The public distribution system (PDS) is in …
A Renewable Crisis
The last time there was a major push for renewable energy alternatives to polluting fossil fuels was in the aftermath of 1970s oil shock. And then,…
Long yarn
The cotton story is a tangled tale. In many parts of India, farmers are committing suicide. It's been a while Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and now …
Organic thread
Even as Bt cotton invaded Indian fields in the past few years, some farmer groups kept pushing for organic cotton. In 2009-10, production in …
On foot and pedal
The teeming millions on foot and pedal are powering mobility in Indian cities. Their numbers exceed those who use cars. Yet they are victims of …
Kind to cash
The government has a plan to reach welfare to the poor without wasting money. It wants to put hard cash in their hands instead of spending on …
Sunshine sector loses sheen
About 40 kilometres from Delhi, in the bustling real estate market of Noida-Greater Noida, lies the biggest irony that the renewable energy …
Let solar shine
Census 2011 throws light on the darkness across India. Of the 246 million households, 67 per cent get electricity from the grid, while 31 per …
New law will make Nigeria’s petroleum industry attractive to investors
Among the main objectives of the Petroleum Industry Act are to define the relationship between the society, investors; create regulatory and …
Promoting agri practices in Punjab for water efficiency, better residue management
New-age machines can help save costs, water & electricity usage as well as combat the problem of stubbles
Investors, insurers ask G20 economies to stop fossil fuel subsidies
The G20 governments were urged to establish a deadline for phasing out fossil fuel subsidies for a steady decline in greenhouse gas emissions
'Luring' migrants to the Capital
The per capita subsidy for Delhi has doubled over the 1970s, greatly encouraging the influx into the city.
Market rights
TRADE IN AGRICULTURE:THE URUGUAY ROUND AND AFTER Edited by B Bhattacharyya and A K Sengupta Indian Institute of Foreign Trade Rs 400
‘Rationalising subsidies, improving infrastructure could revive agri-sector’
For every million rupees spent on agricultural research, 328 people are pulled out of poverty. In contrast, the same amount spent on power …