Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
YSRC government signs MoUs with 11 institutions to help ryotsedit
In a bid to bring reforms in the agriculture sector, State government on Monday signed MoUs with 11 reputed institutes in the country as knowledge partners in the presence of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Objective of the MoUs is to impart technology and knowledge transfer to farmers in the State. As per the agreements, the organisations will provide holistic technical assistance for the farmers to create a sustainable environment and increase their income.
Special agri zone status may not affect ongoing projects in T.N.edit
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s announcement on Sunday last that the Cauvery delta region would be declared ‘Protected Special Agricultural Zone’ (PSAZ) may not affect various ongoing projects in the districts, including hydrocarbon exploration. Mr Palaniswami had said no “new projects such as the hydrocarbon project” would be allowed in delta districts.
Protected Special Agricultural Zone in Tamil Nadu: Farmers’ Interest or Political Interest?edit
The rice bowl of Tamil Nadu, the Cauvery delta region will be converted into a Protected Special Agricultural Zone (PSAZ), Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy announced on February 10. Tanjavore, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts and parts of Ariyalur, Pudukottai, Cuddalore, Karur and Tiruchirapalli will be included in the PSAZ. The decision comes after a sustained protest was waged by farmers, youth, political and civil society organisations, as the farmers were facing severe issues due to continuous oil spillages, water, air and soil pollution.
Why declaring Cauvery delta region a protected agri zone is not enoughedit
Tamil literature abounds with examples on the fertility of Cauvery and its delta region. “Sozha vala naadu sorudaithu” (There is no dearth of food in the fertile country of Cholas) says an old adage. The celebrated epic Silappathikaram speaks of how the Cauvery nurtures the Chola country like a mother. Today, the Cauvery Delta is no longer the major source of food for Tamil Nadu. In the past four decades, the state’s dependence on Cauvery delta for food has fallen from 65% to 40%. This fall has different reasons — hydrocarbon wells, being chief among them. The controversy over Cauvery river water, aggressive sand mining and real estate, made it worse for the rich delta. The green revolution had made ...
Punjab sets up paddy straw management committeeedit
Punjab government on Tuesday constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Justice Mehtab Singh Gill (retd) for the management of paddy straw in the state. It will present its report along with recommendations within two months.
A notification for the constitution of the committee was issued on Tuesday.
Justice Gill is also heading the commission that is probing false FIRs registered during the 10-year regime of SAD-BJP government.
Lower duties for agri goods on cards as US confirms Donald Trump visitedit
As White House confirms US President Donald Trump’s two-day maiden visit to India starting February 24, spotlight will be on soothing fractured trade ties with the country’s largest export destination.
A short release made by the White House late on Monday night said Trump will visit Ahmedabad and along with his wife Melania, apart from New Delhi. Ahmedabad made the cut due to the city being Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state and playing “an important role in Mahatma Gandhi’s life and the Indian independence movement”.
Economy not in trouble, green shoots visible: FM Nirmala Sitharamanedit
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the economy is not in trouble and green shoot are visible with the country moving towards a $5 trillion economy. Listing initiatives taken by the government, she said, increasing foreign direct investment (FDI), rise in factory output and over Rs 1 lakh crore GST collection in the past three months are indications of green shoots in the economy.
Centre rejects Andhra govt’s proposal to release lumpsum payment under PM-KISANedit
The Centre has rejected Andhra Pradesh government’s proposal to release the payment under PM-KISAN scheme as a lumpsum amount instead of installments, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar informed Parliament on Tuesday. Under PM-KISAN, the central government provides a payment of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal installments of Rs 2,000 to 14.5 crore farmers across the country.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Tomar said the Andhra Pradesh government under its Rythu Bharosa scheme proposed to give Rs 12,500 per year to each farmer family inclusive of a benefit of Rs 6,000 given under PM-KISAN. The state government scheme also aimed to cover the tenant farmers.
Amid droughts and floods, India’s tribal farmers rediscover the merits of indigenous cropedit
Hundreds of women with painted earthen pots on their heads joined the march to a venue in the outskirts of Gambharikhol, a village in Daspalla block of Odisha’s Nayagarh district. Each of the pots was full with the seeds collected from the kharif (rainfed cropping season) harvest of their heritage crops, indigenous landraces that have evolved in the region over thousands of years of agrarian practice and culture.
Budget
Why The Goal Of Doubling Farm Incomes By 2023 Is Still A Pipe Dreamedit
In 2016, the Narendra Modi government set a highly ambitious target of doubling farm incomes by 2023 — in seven years. To put this in perspective, it took India 22 years (1993-1994 to 2015-16) to double farmers’ incomes in real terms. So achieving the same in one third of the time seemed improbable as it needed a real growth of 10 per cent when agriculture sector had grown on average at less than 3 per cent rate in the past two decades.
Govt. Policies
Coverage under PM crop insurance scheme has increased: Central Governmentedit
The Centre has claimed that coverage under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has increased to 30 per cent of the gross cropped area (GCA) from 23 per cent in 2015-16 under the earlier schemes. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare told the Rajya Sabha last week that it was incorrect to say that private insurance companies had made windfall gains under the scheme.
The Ministry added that the rise in coverage was because of the improved features of the scheme. “Participation of non-loanee farmers, for whom the scheme is voluntary, have also increased from 5 per cent under erstwhile schemes to 42 per cent (Kharif 2019) under PMFBY, showing the voluntary acceptability of the ...
Uncategorized
Haryana to set up 2,000 Fisheriesedit
In order to give a major fillip to the Fish farming in the State and doubling the farmers’ income, Haryana Government has decided to set up 2000 fish farms across the State. Haryana Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Fisheries Minister, Jai Parkash Dalal said this while was presiding over the meeting of officials of the Fisheries Department here today.
In the meeting, the Agriculture Minister reviewed the schemes being run by the department and also directed the officers to prepare an action plan for the new financial year.