FOR some years now, the Budget speeches of the Finance Minister have been impressive exercises in the art of rhetoric, that is, of verbal persuasion without reference to reality.

WHILE announcing the Rs.60,000-crore debt relief for farmers, it was clear that Finance Minister P.

In Vidarbha, many farmers will not benefit from the waiver because they possess over two hectares of land. Above, Durpata Bhalerao Ataram, whose husband committed suicide in 2007.

The judgment one reaches on what the current year's Budget will do for farmers will vary depending on whether its provisions are seen as a sui generis exercise or are viewed within a longer term per

Andhra Pradesh has been galloping ahead on the road to progress and prosperity at incredible speed in the last four years.

The Union Minister for Panchayati Raj, Mani Shankar Aiyar, was recently in Nagpur to attend a conference. He volunteered to visit Koljhari, Bodhbadhan and Waiphad villages that witnessed many farmer suicides. At Waiphad, he met with a group of farmers and farm labourers who were eager to talk to him.

Chandigarh: The Lok Sabha polls are still a year away, but political parties are busy bolstering their pro-peasantry credentials

Budget 2008 may have rehab cess for stressed farmers