Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Groundwater depletion: Haryana CM pushes for micro-irrigationedit
Hindustan Times – Online
Asking farmers to adopt micro-irrigation where the groundwater level has gone down, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said the previous governments did not pay attention to increasing water availability for agriculture. Presiding over the first meeting of Haryana Water Resources Authority in Chandigarh on Sunday, the chief minister expressed concern over the groundwater level going down to 80 feet in districts such as Kurukshetra, Karnal, Kaithal and Panipat. “The farmers should give priority to micro-irrigation in areas where the groundwater has gone down. The condition of Shahabad and Ismailabad in Kurukshetra district is worst,” he said.
Agri power demand surges 62% in Telanganaedit
The Times Of India – Online
Power demand has gone up exponentially in Telangana after the TRS government began providing 24×7 free power to the agriculture sector. Over five lakh new agriculture connections have been added in the state since 2014. Agriculture power demand has witnessed a steep 62% jump in the past few years, especially after the government began providing uninterrupted power supply to the agriculture sector. As a result, irrigation facilities and free power helped the state occupy the top slot in paddy cultivation in the country.
Non-performing assets in Punjab agriculture loans mostly over 11% by FY 2019-20edit
The Times Of India – Online
Despite a decline in 2018-19, the proportion of non-performing assets (NPAs) in Punjab’s agriculture loans has been over 11% since the beginning of the financial year 2019-20. A study about the performance of the banking sector in Punjab during the pre-Covid-19 and the Covid-19 period has revealed that during the lockdown quarter (April-June 2020), NPAs were lower at 10.68% compared to over 11% in the pre-Covid quarters (see box). The largest proportion of bank branches in Punjab are located in rural areas (44%) compared to semi-urban areas (29%) and urban areas (27%) as of September 2020.
Agriculture dept to distribute 1.13L quintals of paddy seeds by June 30edit
The Times Of India – Online
The state agriculture department has pulled up its socks to speed up distribution of seeds and help farmers in kharif season. The early arrival of southwest monsoon in Bihar has made the condition favourable for the farmers to sow paddy seeds. The department has set the target to distribute 1.13 lakh quintals of paddy seeds, including 10,000 quintals of hybrid seeds (DRRH3, DRRH2, 27P31 and Arize) and the remaining of open pollinated variety seeds (IR-64, Swarna MTU-7029 and Sabour Shree). Under its home delivery scheme, the districts have distributed seeds to 56,000 farmers against 1.60 lakh registration. So far, 26,000 quintal of seeds have been distributed to the farmers by the district agriculture ...
Competition
Sona Comstar IPO opens today: Should you take the ride?edit
Money Control – Online
The initial public offering (IPO) of Blackstone-backed Sona BLW Precision Forgings (Sona Comstar), an automotive technology company, has received a ‘subscribe’ rating from many analysts given the company’s strong product portfolio, expected growth potential in electric vehicle (EV) segment, sound research & development (R&D) base, healthy financial strength, competitive edge and sound global clientele. Its global OEM portfolio includes Ashok Leyland, CNH, Daimler, Escorts, Escorts Kubota, Geely, Jaguar Land Rover, John Deere, Mahindra and Mahindra, Mahindra Electric, Maruti Suzuki, Renault Nissan, Revolt Intellicorp, TAFE, Volvo Cars and Volvo Eicher. They also serve selected leading Tier 1 automotive system suppliers such as Carraro, Dana, Jing-Jin Electric, Linamar and Maschio.
Technology in Agriculture
IIT (ISM) develops auto-irrigation system based on mobile App for migrants hit by COVID-19edit
The New Indian Express – Online
A team of professors and students from IIT (ISM) have developed a new Smart Auto-Irrigation and Soil Monitoring System which is primarily focused on motivating and engaging underprivileged families of farmers affected by COVID19 to take up agriculture, powered by the promising new system as a permanent source of income in their native places. Under this system, moisture of the soil along with surrounding temperature and humidity could be monitored regularly through the sensors fitted with a master device in the farms which is connected with mobile application prompting the motor or sprinkler to start automatically in case any of the parameters goes lower than the prescribed limit. The project was started in ...
Farm Mechanization – A necessary changeedit
Udaipur Kiran – Online
To empower the farmers through Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) scheme, Government of India has released funds for various activities of Farm Mechanization like Establishment of Custom Hiring Centres, Farm Machinery Bank, High-tech Hubs and distribution of various agricultural machinery etc to different states. Agricultural Mechanization plays a vital role in optimizing the use of land, water energy resources, manpower and other inputs like seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc to maximize the productivity of the available cultivable area and make agriculture a more profitable and attractive profession for rural youth. Agricultural Mechanization is one of the key drivers for the sustainable development of the agriculture sector. Sustainable Agriculture mechanization growth will require appropriate and precision agricultural ...
Govt. Policies
Telangana farmers to get Rs 7,509 crore investment support from June 15edit
CNBC TV18 – Online
Telangana government will provide Rs 7,509 crore as investment support to over 63 lakh farmers for cultivation during Kharif season under Rythu Bandhu scheme. Agriculture Minister S. Niranjan Reddy said on Sunday that the government has made all arrangements to credit the amount at the rate of Rs 5,000 per acre to the bank accounts of the farmers from June 15 to 25. This year farmers who received landholding (pattadar) passbooks and registered their details through CCLA on the Dharani portal by June 10 will be eligible to receive Rythu Bandhu assistance. The Minister said CCLA has submitted a list of 63,25,695 beneficiaries to the agriculture department.
Monsoon + Indian Agriculture
Monsoon covers entire Jharkhand, sowing for Kharif crops beginsedit
Hindustan Times – Online
With monsoon setting in, sowing for Kharif crops has started across Jharkhand amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The south-west monsoon, that hit Jharkhand on Saturday, covered the entire state on Sunday. The state agriculture department has asked farmers and seed distributors to abide by Covid-19 protocol issued by the disaster management department. “Farmers need to follow general guidelines such as wearing masks and maintaining social distancing during sapling plantation on field,” state agriculture secretary Abu Bakr Siddiqui said. As per officials, the timely arrival of monsoon season is expected to boost kharif harvest prospect again this year. “We have also started seed distribution among farmers on time. If everything goes as per plan, we can ...