Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Karnataka likely to harvest record crop size in Kharif Seasonedit
Krishi Jagran – Online
The weather has been favorable in the state of Karnataka for the farmers to reap a good produce in this season. Karnataka Agriculture Minister Mr. B.C. Patil has issued a press statement saying that there are chances of record yield of agricultural produce in this Kharif season. Sowing is already done over three lakh hectares in the state because of good pre monsoon rains. The state government targets a sowing area of 77 lakh hectares.
Agriculture is one of the most essential attribute of Karnataka economy. The topography of Karnataka such as the city’s relief, soil, and climate immensely supports the agricultural activities in Karnataka. The Kharif crops in Karnataka comprise millets, paddy (rice), maize, ...
Jammu & Kashmir signs MoU with Go Air for transportation of agri produceedit
Business Standard – Online
In a significant decision, the Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a private airline for the transportation of perishable horticulture and agricultural produce to various destinations across the country. The MoU between the Horticulture Department and Go-Air was signed in the presence of Principal Secretary Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Horticulture departments, Navin Kumar Choudhary at Civil Secretariat here, an official spokesman said. Terming the step as significant, the principal secretary said the move will empower the fruit growers of Jammu and Kashmir and will increase their income as well as boost the rural economy.
Farmers of 5 border villages in Punjab harried as BSF ‘restricts’ access along fenceedit
Hindustan Times – Online
The farmers of five villages situated along the India-Pakistan border in Amritsar district’s Ajnala sub-division are a worried lot these days as they are still to till their land ahead of the paddy-sowing season. They alleged that the Border Security Force (BSF) has restricted their access to the causeways along the barbed fence on both sides, making it difficult for them to visit their fields. Scores of farmers of Kakkar, Manjh, Lodhi Gujjar, Hetampur and Tanjurai villages said due to the closure of the causeways, they were forced to carry their agricultural equipment, including tractor-trailers, to their fields through fields of others.
After Covid-19, India’s food advantageedit
Fortune India – Online
In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, India had a record-breaking harvest in wheat, rice, and pulses, more than 305 million tonnes, according to the third advance estimates for the 2020-21 crop year. In another record, in Punjab alone, the state has procured around 130 lakh tonnes of wheat, the highest in a decade, and the state has, using direct benefit transfer (DBT), which means a straight transfer of money to the bank account without any layers in between, transferred most of the money for the rabi season directly to farmers.
Jharkhand plans unique IDs to weed out ‘ghost’ farmersedit
The Times Of India – Online
The state agriculture department has decided to provide a unique identification (UID) number to every farmer to ensure seamless transfer of benefits under agri-related schemes. But for the time being, the department has begun allotting ‘seed tokens’ to farmers. The tokens carry details of seeds distributed, land available with the farmer and his/her Aadhaar and mobile number, among others. In the coming months, the department will provide every farmer a digitised chip-based card along with their unique ID number that will carry all relevant information pertaining to the transactions between them and the government. Talking to TOI on Monday, state agriculture director Nisha Oraon said that the move has been conceived to bring ...
CSR and COVID Initiatives
Escorts Ltd announces Covid relief measures for its dealershipsedit
Mint – Online
Escorts Ltd, one of the country’s largest tractor manufacturers, on Monday announced the decision to offer financial help for employees at dealerships for their covid-19 treatment. The company will also help dealers by bearing the cost of vaccination of their employees. As part of the scheme named ‘Covid-Shield’, the company will pay an employee of a dealer a sum of ₹20,000 after they test positive for covid-19.
HCL Will Donate Quality Kharif Seeds to 20,000 Farmers of Lucknow and Hardoi Districtsedit
Krishi Jagran – Online
The well-known IT Company HCL Technologies announced recently that it will donate quality seeds during Kharif sowing to make sure livelihood of farmers does not get severely affected by the second wave of Covid. The company will distribute seeds to 20,000 farmers in Lucknow and Hardoi districts of Uttar Pradesh. In addition, the company will also ensure that fertilizers and pesticides are made available to farmers timely and sufficiently through the Hardoi Kisan Farmers Producers Organization.
Several farmers have failed to sell their winter crops, as they could reach the mandis due to insufficient transportation during the lockdown. In the wake of this, the company is gearing up collection centers to make sure the farmers’ ...
K’taka Congress seeks bailout package for farmers reeling under Covid woesedit
The Siasat Daily – Online
The opposition Congress on Monday urged the Karnataka government to bail out the farmers reeling under the impact of the Covid-induced lockdown which has been extended to contain the pandemic, as they are forced to sell their produce at a distress price. “With demand and consumption declining over a month since the lockdown was imposed on April 27, farmers and horticulture growers are suffering a huge loss, as they are forced to sell their produce at a low price in distress,” the party’s state unit chief D.K. Shivakumar told reporters in Dharwad.
Drawing the state government’s attention to the plight of lakhs of farmers who are unable to recover even their production cost, Shivakumar ...
Technology in Agriculture
Odisha experiments with blockchain in Paddy Procurement Automation System and uses predictive analytics in Covid-19: Manoj Mishra, E&IT Secretaryedit
Express Computers – Online
In a much awaited detailed interaction, Manoj Mishra, Secretary, Department of Electronics & IT, Government of Odisha talks about how emerging technologies are changing the digital landscape in Odisha and how the state is investing big in IT R&D. He informs that Odisha will have a separate and focused policy document on ESDM, BPO and data centre/parks in Odisha in 2021. The government is dishing out fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to new investors that are linked to both employment and investments.
Autonomous vehicles hold potential to revolutionise farming, mining sectors & more: Tata Elxsiedit
Express Drives – Online
Technological advancement in the automotive industry is quite an ongoing process but the sector has come leaps ahead in the past decade with the focus now shifting to the electrification of vehicles and exploring means like hydrogen fuel cells and more. Another aspect quickly catching on is autonomous or self-driving vehicles.
While self-driven passenger cars could still be a long way away in India, the automotive industry can offer autonomous technology for off-highway vehicles which, in return, can make operations more cost-effective, safe and efficient for various industries like mining, agriculture, construction and even the military. We got in a conversation with Shaju S, General Manager and Head, Transportation Business Unit, Tata Elxsi, to understand ...
Monsoon + Indian Agriculture
UP is facing wheat storage problem ahead of Monsoonedit
Hindustan Times – Online
Uttar Pradesh is running short of space to store wheat during the current procurement season, which is due to last two more weeks, people aware of the issue disclosed. The government has purchased close to 40 lakh MT (metric tonnes) of wheat so far this season at the minimum support price (MSP) and the final procurement is expected to close at around 55 lakh MT, since around 1 lakh MT wheat is being purchased from farmers every day. “Despite the tough situation arising from the second wave of Covid pandemic, we have already purchased around 40 lakh MT wheat, worth more than ₹7,817 crore from 828,697 farmers. Less than 24 lakh MT wheat was purchased ...
Karnataka hoping ‘normal’ monsoon will steer rural economy back on trackedit
The Times Of India – Online
When the state economy was hit due to Covid-19-induced lockdown last year, the one silver lining was the record farm output. Karnataka, which is again reeling under the second Covid wave, is hoping for a repeat of last year’s feat and is placing its optimism on projections of a ‘normal’ monsoon this year (June to September), which could address 60-70 per cent of the sector’s worries. “Monsoon contributes 74% of the state’s normal annual rainfall and it has an enormous impact on the economy since more than 70% of agricultural area in Karnataka is rain-fed,” said Manoj Rajan, commissioner, Karnataka Disaster Management Authority. “Monsoon showers are also crucial to ensuring adequate drinking water, ...
Stubble Burning
Biomass project to turn agri waste into green fueledit
The Times Of India – Online
Air and land pollution caused by open burning of crop residue is currently a major pain point in parts of Goa and the state government has decided to curb this practice by collecting and converting tree and bio-waste into green fuel known as biomass briquettes. The briquettes are compressed and are a proven way of generating energy from waste. They contain various organic materials such as rice husk, solid waste, agricultural waste, etc. all commonly referred to as biomass. The proposed biomass-based renewable energy project is first-of-its-kind in Goa which will help reduce open dumping and burning of agriculture waste and will help bring down the carbon footprint by replacing fossil fuels with ...
Karimnagar farmers warned against stubble burningedit
The New Indian Express – Online
Even while raising awareness on damage the stubble burning causes to environment as well as their own fields, the State Agriculture and Fire Departments warned the farmers not to continue with such practice, which is quite rampant in rural areas across the erstwhile Karimnagar district.
The Police Department, meanwhile, warned of stringent action under relevant sections if any one is found to be burning the stubble, resulting in fire accidents.Every season, after harvesting the previous crop, the farmers begin land preparation for the next cultivation. As part of that initial farming process, they burn the paddy stubble. This invariably results in fire spreading to surrounding areas, sometimes destroying the adjoining fields, houses and ...
Tractor industry
Escorts reports 2.6% decline in May tractor salesedit
Business Standard – Online
Escorts Agri Machinery Segment sold 6423 tractors in May 2021 compared to 6594 tractors in May 2020, recording a decline of 2.6%. Domestic tractor sales in May 2021 stood at 6,158 tractors as against 6,454 tractors in May 2020, recording a decline of 4.6%. Exports rose 89.3% to 265 tractors in May 2021 compared to 140 tractors in May 2020.
Mahindra to Launch 37 Tractors, 9 SUVs and 14 CVs by 2026edit
Krishi Jagran – Online
By 2026, Mahindra & Mahindra will introduce 23 new products in the passenger and commercial vehicle markets, along with 37 tractor types. In the following years, Mahindra expects to introduce 23 new products in the automotive sector. There are 9 SUVs and 14 commercial vehicles among them. In addition, by 2026, the company plans to release 37 tractor models as part of its Project K2 initiative. The K2 series is a tractor that is designed to be lightweight. Mitsubishi Mahindra Agricultural Machinery in Japan and Mahindra Research Valley in India are working together to produce these tractors. They should be available in three to four years. In 2023, the first batch of tractors will be ...