With impressive macro-economic rates of growth and a booming stock market, India is one of the most exciting economies in the world today. It has reportedly displaced the United States as the second most attractive destination for foreign direct investment after China. This spectacular overall performance, however, hides one dark spot the people of India exposed through Verdict 2004. The benefits of this growth have not been evenly distributed. Large parts do not find a place on the development map of the country. Massive statistical Jata establish that there is a concentration of poverty and distress in the drylands of India as also in its hilly and tribal areas.
A national authority for rainfed India
by Mihir Shah, The Hindu, 19 April, 2006