Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Farm promises in focus as government gets down to businessedit
After completing the portfolio distribution following the cabinet expansion on Tuesday, the Hemant Soren government now faces an uphill task of fulfilling its promises made to the agriculture sector and also maintenance of law and order in the state. Badal, the Congress MLA from Jarmundi in Deoghar, a first-time cabinet minister has been given agriculture, animal husbandry and cooperative departments. This means that Badal now has the daunting task of fulfilling the poll promises made for the farmers’ community by JMM, especially since the coalition parties have already blamed the former BJP government of leaving the state coffers empty.
Central team visits Punjab border villages, says no locusts swarms foundedit
Indian Express– Online
A central government team that visited Fazilka’s villages close to the Rajasthan border on Wednesday has said that the population of locusts in the border villages of Punjab is “nil”.
Ferozepur MLA Parminder Singh Pinki also visited border villages of Ferozepur on the call of farmers.
Dr Jagdish Godara, assistant plant protecting officer from the department of agriculture, government of India, visited Fazilka’s Gumjal, Panniwala and Kallerkhera villages to take feedback from farmers. Speaking to The Indian Express, he said, “I did not find any population of locusts. They were spotted in these border villages of Fazilka on Friday, but not we did not find any…Pest management has been done and I believe things are now under ...
Senegal turns to eco-farming to protect food supply as climate changesedit
Senegal aims to transition toward eco-farming on a national scale to protect its food supply from the effects of climate change, the agriculture minister said on Thursday.
Increasing droughts and rising temperatures have taken a toll on crop production across West Africa’s Sahel region, adding to the stresses of a growing population and land overuse. Experts see Senegal as a regional leader on agroecology – the use of natural methods to address land degradation – through public subsidies- has led to overuse of chemical fertilizers.
Efforts being made to develop tier-II & III cities in Karnataka: Union Minister Pralhad Joshiedit
Efforts arebeing made to develop tier-II and tier-III cities in Karnataka, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi has said. Speaking at ‘Invest Karnataka Road Show’ here on Wednesday night, he said it was time to seek investment for tier-II cities in states
While agriculture continues to get top priority from the government, Joshi said it (agriculture) alone cannot cater to the requirements of a family for employment and that other sectors should also grow. The intention is to support agriculture and supporting industries also, Joshi said
Budget
Budget 2020: Zinc deficiency affecting crops, humans; need for a conducive policy in agricultureedit
Union Budget 2020 will be announced on February 1. Crucial policy measures are expected from the government across sectors to uplift the current economy and revive the ongoing slowdown. With the dual objectives of India becoming a USD 5 trillion economy by 2024-25 and also doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022-25, the government must make important provisions to boost the agriculture sector, which is the backbone of the economy.
For the agricultural sector to grow, not only does the farm production and productivity need improvement but the quality of output needs to be looked at simultaneously. It has been observed that there’s an acute micronutrient deficiency in soils and crops worldwide including India, resulting in severe ...
Govt may launch two mega schemes for farmers in Budget 2020edit
The government may unveil two mega agricultural initiatives in the Union Budget to be presented on February 1. One scheme is related to corp diversification and another on financial assistance to create Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), the Economic Times reported. Worth mentioning here is that in the previous Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had promised to launch the FPO programme.
According to an earlier report in the business daily, the government will allocate Rs 7,000-crore for the FPO programme, which is expected to help nurture 10,000 such FPOs. These FPOs — organised groups of small and marginal farmers — will help farmers improve their incomes through better market access and collective bargaining power.
Budget 2020: Government may trim PM-KISAN allocation by 20 per cent to Rs 60,000 crore due to implementation hurdlesedit
The government may reduce allocation for the PM-KISAN scheme by 20 per cent to around Rs 60,000 crore in the upcoming Budget due to implementation hurdles in some states, according to sources.
The Centre had allocated Rs 75,000 crore in the Budget Estimate (BE) for 2019-20 to implement the PM-KISAN scheme, under which Rs 6,000 is being provided to farmers per year in three equal instalments.
Budget 2020: From Infra projects under PMO to MNREGA revision, economists share top ideas in Financial Express Online surveyedit
Budget 2020 Financial Express Online survey: People’s wishlist from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget Speech presentation on Saturday is growing longer. However, the Budget document can’t address all ideas, or fulfil wishes of everyone. At best, the government may take up some immediately doable ideas that would help the economy and the people in the long run. In the run-up the to Budget, Financial Express Online surveyed economists, policy analysts and experts to find out the top two immediately doable ideas the Central government can take up in the Budget. The ideas shared by the economists vary from tax to economy to infrastructure to agriculture and more.
PM-KISAN fund allocation likely to be cut by 20%: Reportedit
The fund allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme will likely be trimmed the next fiscal year, according to a report by The Economic Times.
In FY20, the amount allocated to PM-KISAN was Rs 75,000 crore, but the agriculture ministry has sought Rs 60,000 crore for 2020-21, the report said.
The reason behind the cut in funds allocation for FY21 is that some states have delayed identifying beneficiaries, and several farmers are not yet not verified by Aadhaar, the report said.
Technology in Agriculture
Technology hasn’t adequately touched manufacturing: Moglix’s Rahul Gargedit
In a rapidly evolving manufacturing setup, businesses are required to make decisions that bear implications on multiple fronts, and technology can be an apt enabler to this cause, believes Rahul Garg, Founder & CEO, Moglix.
“When you make a decision in a manufacturing set up, it has multiple ramifications on numerous departments in the organisation. From the production line to the stores on the street, in all of this, I believe the technology as an enabling force has mostly remained underutilised for Indian businesses and going forward, its role is set to increase exponentially, Garg said, talking to ET.