Since yesterday, hockey has upstaged cricket as a newsmaker: Pick up a paper or switch on to any news channel.
Alas it took a debacle to get it the attention long long overdue: India's failure to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.
But it won't be long before the dust settles and all eyes, ears, bytes and columns are full of the upcoming IPL cricket series. India, it seems has "Chucked" Hockey, our National Game.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Debt of gratitude
P Chidambaram has announced a waiver of farmer’s debt amounting to Rs. 60,000 crores. That is $15bn or 7.6bn pounds.
These are farmers who have under 2 hectares of farm land and have taken a loan from a government bank.
This, according to Mohan Manidwar of Farmers Agitation Group, which highlights the large number of impoverished farmers committing suicide, will exclude most farmers in the Vidarbha region of central India.
Also, close to 80 per cent farm loans are taken from private moneylenders and not banks.
While the FM has not spelt out where this money will be coming from, this loan waiver is welcome relief to as many as 4 crore who will benefit from what Chidarambaram calls “an unorthodox response.
However, one question remains: why did it take so long for the Government of India to redeem this “debt of gratitude”? Farmer suicides have been more or less a constant fixture since 1997.
Maybe I am being cynical, but I keep wondering if this one time loan waiver will be the solution or will it at best bring temporary, much needed relief to many.
Read here and here.
These are farmers who have under 2 hectares of farm land and have taken a loan from a government bank.
This, according to Mohan Manidwar of Farmers Agitation Group, which highlights the large number of impoverished farmers committing suicide, will exclude most farmers in the Vidarbha region of central India.
Also, close to 80 per cent farm loans are taken from private moneylenders and not banks.
While the FM has not spelt out where this money will be coming from, this loan waiver is welcome relief to as many as 4 crore who will benefit from what Chidarambaram calls “an unorthodox response.
However, one question remains: why did it take so long for the Government of India to redeem this “debt of gratitude”? Farmer suicides have been more or less a constant fixture since 1997.
Maybe I am being cynical, but I keep wondering if this one time loan waiver will be the solution or will it at best bring temporary, much needed relief to many.
Read here and here.
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