Business Standard

Ramesh Chand, member of Niti Aayog, the government’s policy think tank chaired by the Prime Minister, has told Business Standard that a new policy agenda for farmers is on the cards. “I am ready with the agenda, including the first 100 days’ agenda, of the new government to address immediate and medium term concerns relating to Indian agriculture (and farmers’ distress),” Chand said.

The Statesman

The victory of BJP in Hooghly has once again ignited the issue of industrial set up and agricultural development in Singur. The party’s Hooghly candidate Locket Chatterjee in her election campaign promised the people of Singur to take initiative to set up industry in the wide stretch of unproductive land within the aborted Tata Project area and to equally lay stress on the progress and development of agriculture in Singur implementing modern scientific technology.

The New Indian Express

In a freewheeling interview with Manish Anand, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe argued that Modi has been a victim of misperception created by a section of the media and intelligentsia.

The New Indian express

A crash in prices of farm produce and the demand for remunerative prices, and waiver of back-breaking loans are some of the issues staring the new government in the face. The interim budget recognised the distress by hiking the allocation for agriculture from `56,000 crore to over `1.4 lakh crore, taking the outlay to a record 5.2 percent of the budget. Among the highlights of the farm budget was the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, an income support scheme that promised the transfer of `6,000 a year in three tranches. This is inadequate, as it translates to a meagre `500 per month for a farmer.

The Times of India

Amid concerns over decreasing ground water level due to paddy cultivation, Kurukshetra administration on Saturday held a meeting with farmers to urge them to adopt crop diversification and sow maize, arhar (pigeon pea) or soybean for the coming season in place of the paddy

The Economic Times

When 27-year-old Abhishek Dhama first broached the idea of ditching engineering to work on a farm, his family stared in disbelief. “Why did you study so much if you had to do farming,” was a common refrain. Other farmers in north Delhi’s Palla village, mockingly called him ‘Mr Stevia’ when he started cultivating a relatively unknown plant that is used to make a natural sweetener. But Dhama, who gave up a career in electronics and communication engineering, to take up agriculture three years ago, ..

The Times of India

With Fall Armyworm causing extensive damage to maize crops in various districts including Trichy, Karur and Perambalur, the agriculture department has evolved an action plan to prevent the pest attack this year. Maize is grown on about 3.5 lakh hectares in Tamil Nadu and Fall Armyworm had caused extensive damage to the crop last year. The pest had spread rapidly within a short period and caused damage to the crop despite various control measures. In Trichy, the crop is cultivated on 30,000 acres, of which 28,000 acres suffered the pest attack last year.

BW Businessworld

It is rightly quoted that Healthy citizens are the greatest assets any nation can have. For any country to prosper, it’s a prerequisite to have healthier citizens, who can contribute immensely to its development. In India, numerous efforts are being made to promote sound health and enhance quality of life among the citizens of the country. Due to the collaborative efforts of the Indian government and various institutions, the number of people striving for a healthier lifestyle has grown by leaps and bounds. Consequently, all the other dependent industries have also witnessed a sudden surge. Organic industry is one such promising industry that holds colossal potential within it, especially for the people driven to invest in this ...

The Economic Times

The political battle has been convincingly won. Now, the NDA government must take on — and win — the economic challenges staring the country in its face.