Depletion of fossil fuels at an alarming rate coupled with ever growing challenges due to anthropogenic induced climate change stress has attracted increasing attention to blending bio-fuels worldwide. India's primary energy use is projected to expand massively to deliver a sustained GDP growth rate of 9per cent through 2031-32.

This paper considers the extent to which the Forest Rights Act 2006, potentially the most comprehensive institutional reform of forest rights in India since Independence, may ameliorate the high levels of chronic and acute poverty in forested areas of Andhra Pradesh.

This paper is set in the context of a larger development policy debate pertaining to regional inequalities in India. Historically some regions had experienced agricultural prosperity due to their resource endowments especially water. The complementarity between modern inputs and water has boosted the public investments in these regions in order to achieve food self-sufficiency.