Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Budget 2019: How government can reduce farm distress, boost agricultural sectoredit
he agricultural sector in the country has been suffering a crisis due to a chain of issues that have not only reduced the overall output of the sector but also led to a massive reduction in farmers’ income. As finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to announce India’s full budget for the year 2019-20, experts want the government to provide a boost to the ailing sector and look beyond short-term measures such as loan waivers and cash transfers
Niti Aayog sets up task force to brainstorm on agriculture reformsedit
Mint Business Standard The Hindu The Indian Express
Federal policy think tank Niti Aayog, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday decided to set up a task force of state chief ministers and central ministers to prepare a blueprint for structural reforms in agriculture, vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar said during a briefing. The members of the task force and the timeframe for making recommendations will be announced shortly.
Stubble Burning
As smoke billows from city fields, govt. misses the fireedit
Stubble burning, which can lead to heart attacks and respiratory diseases, is practised in many areas of Delhi. Farmers said they were forced to burn the leftover stalk of harvested crops as there was no help from the government to get rid of the same. The Hindu found at least eight fields, which were set on fire after harvesting, in three villages in the city — Palla, Mundela Khurd, and Surhera. The fields that were mainly of wheat crop were harvested in April.