Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
India extends deadline to impose high import duties on 29 US productsedit
The government has again extended its deadline to impose retaliatory customs duties on 29 US products, including almond, walnut and pulses, till May 2.
A notification of the finance ministry said that implementation of increased customs duty on specified imports originating in the US has been postponed from April 1, 2019, to May 2, this year.
Give farmers a fair dealedit
Soon after the Economic Survey-2016 brought to light that the average farm income in 17 states — roughly half of India — was less than Rs 20,000 a year, a newspaper reported the squabble between officers of the Supreme Court and the defence services over washing allowance which they get as part of their income package. The defence service employees were reportedly questioning why the officers of the apex court were getting a higher washing allowance of Rs 21,000, while their own entitlement was Rs 20,000. It made me wonder: Don’t farmers have clothes to wash?
India will find it hard to weather a bad monsoonedit
The summer of 2019 could be a difficult one for India. Monsoon rainfall and summer temperatures may be affected by El Niño, a weather phenomenon characterised by warm ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean that is sometimes associated with drought in the subcontinent, M Rajeevan, secretary, ministry of earth sciences told Hindustan Times last week. Last month, the World Meteorological Organisation said “there is a 50-60% chance of El Niño developing by May 2019, although it is not expected to be a strong event. But if this unpredictable climate phenomenon gains strength, it is likely to sap the monsoon system and lead to episodes of heat waves.
How this start-up is pioneering sustainable farming in Indiaedit
Red Otter Farms was born with an aim to fulfill the two-fold mission of its founders. One, to make locally produced, high-quality, chemical-free fresh food easily accessible to consumers. Second, to find a sustainable solution to farming practices. “Our first commercial aquaponics farm has been set up in Kotabagh in Uttarakhand. It is one of India’s largest aquaponics farm as well as the first of its kind in Uttarakhand,” says Anubhav Das, founder of Red Otter Farms. “Aquaponics, as a modern-day farming technique, is helping develop local food systems.”
Rural India buying less of consumer products due to falling incomeedit
The new financial year is not much cheer to companies which generate a large chunk of sales in rural India. Their chief executives say slowing economic growth and falling rural wages are leading to a sharp fall in demand, one that will reflect in the next few quarters. A longer winter season has delayed offtake of summer season products.
Lectures for agri-engineersedit
The College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), and Alumni Association organized a series of expert lectures to impart professional training to students and faculty in the field of agricultural engineering. Postgraduate students of the department of soil and water engineering, faculty of the college and other allied departments of PAU attended the lectures that aimed at apprising them of the latest development in the industry. In the first lecture on ‘Micro-irrigation Technology Status in India’, PAU alumnus Anil Kaushal, vice-president, Automat Industry, gave a broad view on the need and potential of micro-irrigation in the country. He also suggested application of micro-irrigation systems in areas other than agriculture. Second lecture was ...
From Plate to Plough: A festival of rash promisesedit
It is time to celebrate the biggest spectacle of democracy on this planet. About 900 million people are eligible to exercise their right to choose their representatives to the Lok Sabha. This festival of democracy will last for about a month-and-a-half. Notwithstanding several shortcomings of democracy, it appears better than dictatorships or centralised communist regimes. China may have done better when it comes to economic growth, but can Indians accept the one-child norm that China enforced between 1981 and 2016? Can there be open dissent in China’s media about its government’s policies as we have on Indian media channels? The obvious answer is no. We can accept a lower growth rate of 7 per cent per ...
Fasal Bima Yojana: Is crop insurance working? Here’s what data tells usedit
After the initial years when it looked coming apart, the NDA government’s flagship crop insurance scheme has clearly consolidated itself. Despite 2018 having seen moderate monsoon deficiency and somewhat uneven spread of rains in areas crucial for farming, the claims made by farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) for the year’s kharif (summer) crop was just 44% of the premium collected by insurers, making it a lucrative part of their business portfolio. Also, with state governments shedding their initial ambivalence towards the scheme, premium inflows have become more robust and prompt.