Sky Met Weather

Fresh spell of rains are all to drench several parts of Punjab and Haryana and during the next 24 hours. In fact, few places could also witness isolated hailstorm. Places such as Amritsar, Chandigarh, Pathankot, Nawanshahr, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Ambala, Panchkula, Karnal are mostly likely to witness rain activity.

Deccan Chronicle

With farmers steering clear of jowar and wheat during both the kharif and rabi seasons for two consecutive years owing to the poor monsoon,  several taluks of  North Karnataka are facing a severe shortage of fodder. Although the district administration has set up fodder banks, they have failed to meet the requirements of farmers, who are worried their troubles  will only worsen  in summer.

The Times of India

Already upset with the abnormal weather conditions during March and April for two consecutive years, the farmers in Hadoti region and other parts of the state are jittery again.Though no abnormal conditions hinting at hail or dust storm have been witnessed so far, the farmers are praying to their local deities asking for favourable weather.

Sentinel Assam

India would be reaping a record harvest of foodgrains in  2016-17 with pulses being the high point of the country’s achievements in the farm output, providing a food for thought about  how  policy  interventions and reaching out to farmers can motivate them to turn things around from severe shortages to near self-sufficiency.

DNA India

Agriculture, which accounts for 15% of GDP, is expected to have a strong showing in FY17, with whole-year food grain production estimated at a record high of 272 million tonnes. Ashutosh Khajuria, Executive Director, Federal Bank, said, “With the bumper kharif crop and the expected bumper rabi crop, agriculture is going to be a big contributor to the GDP numbers. The better-than-expected GDP numbers could also be as the white economy was not impacted and the adverse impact was borne by the parallel black economy.”

Hindustan Times

In a major boost to development in the state, the World Bank has agreed to invest more than one billion dollars (more than Rs7,000 crore) in the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) III and the Climate Resilient Agriculture Project formulated for the drought-affected districts of Vidarbha and Marathwada. World Bank’s chief executive officer Kristalina Georgieva made the announcement on Tuesday. This is the highest investment by World Bank in any Indian state.

The Hindu Business Line

That drones have tremendous practical applications can no longer be disputed. Some of India’s startups are revolutionising drone applications in areas as diverse as disaster management, precision agriculture and crop insurance, mining, infrastructure projects, and land records.

Daily Excelsior

Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation, Abdul Rehman Veeri today said that agriculture and its allied sectors are vital for growth of rural economy and should be tapped to optimum on a sustainable basis for changing the landscape of rural areas of the State.