Inventia

The prominent sectors, Agriculture, Manufacturing, and Services sectors, have shown signs of recovery because the government and therefore, the reserve bank of India took appropriate steps to contain the damage by coronavirus lockdown.

The Ministry of Finance released a press release that claimed early economic revival have emerged in May and June with real activity indicators like fuel consumption, and electricity, inter and intra-state movement of products, retail financial transactions witnessing devour. The statement added that the govt and RBI took prompt policy measures in both the future and short term to revive the economy at the earliest with minimal damage.

Deccan Chronicle

Several major reservoirs have recorded live storage levels two-three times more than last year, as inflows have been encouraging during the first month of the monsoon season. This is a good sign for farmers and citizens in general as reservoirs with enough water will not lead to a drinking water problem.  The Almatti reservoir, the backwaters of which witnessed unprecedented flooding last year, is almost half-full in the first month itself, with inflows set to increase due to good rainfall in River Krishna’s catchment region.

Indian Express

There are many parallels one can draw between the novel coronavirus-induced lockdown (gharbandi) and demonetisation (notebandi), in terms of their impact on India’s farm economy. Both resulted in the same thing – demand destruction – albeit through different routes.

Hindustan Times

With the commencement of Kharif season, farmers in Kalaburagi district have started sowing seasonal crops-Cotton and pigeon pea, anticipating a good rainfall in the state.

Farmers in the region said they could not grow enough crops due to low rainfall.

A farmer in Kalaburagi, who is sowing the Kharif crop in the hope of bumper crop said: “Due to less rain for the last 3 years, we have not been able to grow cotton. But during this year’s monsoon, we are sowing cotton and tur (Pigeon pea) in our 2-acre land.”

“Although, there is no guarantee of rain this year as well but we can only hope for it,” he added.

The Kharif season begins in June ...

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With the launch of the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana, or RGKNY, on May 21, Chhattisgarh became the sixth Indian state in two years to initiate a direct cash transfer scheme for farmers. The scheme aims to supplement the income of the state’s 1.9 million farmers by Rs 10,000-Rs 13,000 per acre of land owned. Cash transfers for Covid-19 relief and stimulus are also gaining salience, with the Centre announcing frontloading of PM Kisan payments.

Rural Marketing

Farming is one of the ancient works human beings have undertaken and continue till date. However, with time, some processes followed have become dated and a need to replace them with better and innovative ideas arises. Much of it took place to increase production so that the demand can be fulfilled. However, even in 21st century, when phones are said to be smarter than humans, farmers are dependent on a seasonal phenomenon called monsoon that decides whether they can afford to sow their crop or not. There is an urgent need to up the game in Indian agriculture which can both feed its own people and export to other countries.

Live Mint

The locked rooms lining the courtyard of Dilip Patidar’s sprawling ancestral home once smelled like a spice box. That was some years ago when crop prices had crashed. Patidar, a well-to-do farmer from the agriculturally-prosperous Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, would store most of the harvest, from spices like coriander and cumin to pulses and grains, waiting for better days.

Patidar is familiar with the inherent risks in farming. He has seen bountiful harvests razed to the ground after a night’s freak hailstorm, and the winding queue of vehicles outside wholesale markets—farmers would spend sleepless nights on top of their tractor-trolleys laden with harvest, desperate to sell their garlic and onion despite making a heavy loss. Patidar ...