Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Covid pandemic: Lessons for art and agricultureedit
The New Indian Express – Online
Even as the world and the rest of India was living in isolation and trembling in fear in the wake of the first wave of Covid-19, those in Kerala were pitched into another nerve-wracking situation: the inter-state borders were sealed off; truckloads of cereals, grain, grocery and vegetables from the neighbouring states were stopped from moving to the state. For the first time, it was shockingly brought to the imminent danger of its blissful consumerism—what had been common knowledge for decades was now felt at the pit of the stomach.
Telangana sees best yields in cotton, mirchi, paddy : S Niranjan Reddyedit
The Hans India – Online
Telangana State secured the first place in yieldsfor cotton, mirchi and paddy crops, informed the Minister for Agriculture S Niranjan Reddy On Saturday. Along with Minister for Transport Puvvada Ajay Kumar, he participated in various programmes in the district. Speaking in one occasion, Niranjan Reddy said the government is giving importance to develop the Agriculture sector in the State. Nearly Rs 6,000 crore was spent for development of agricultural sector, he added. He said nearly 50%mirchi cultivated in the State and it is a big achievement in the State. He said the Telangana State cultivated three core metric tones’ of paddy and secured first place across the country.
What Independent India must do at 75: Focus of economic policy must be towards quality education, skills & agri reformsedit
Financial Express – Online
India’s relatively sluggish performance raise doubts about its flawed democratic structure that makes economic reforms and policy implementation more challenging, unlike China. The first lesson to learn for India@75: It will take decades to catch up to the US standards, but if we target Chinese standards over the next decade or two, perhaps India can do better. Remember, China’s reforms started with agriculture, and India, till date, has been avoiding reforming its agriculture. For manufacturing sector to grow sustainably, we have to increase the purchasing power of rural people, which has to be done by raising their productivity and not by distributing freebies. It requires investments in education, skills, health and physical infrastructure, besides R&D ...
Competition
Japanese agri co Kubota may up stake in Escortsedit
The Times Of India – Online
Japanese agri major Kubota Corporation may be looking to increase its stake by 5% to 7% in tractor manufacturer Escorts. Kubota has a 10% stake in Escorts. An Escorts spokesperson said: “This is pure speculation. As a matter of company policy we do not comment on speculations or rumours.” Last March Kubota Corp picked up a 10% stake in Escorts for Rs 1,042 crore. Escorts for its part acquired 40% stake in Kubota’s Indian arm Kubota Agri Machinery India for Rs 900 crore.
Mahindra Group elevates Seema Bangia as VP & CPO for Mahindra Agriculture, Aerospace and Defence businessesedit
People Matters – Online
Mahindra Group has elevated Seema Bangia as Vice President & Chief People Officer, for Mahindra Agriculture, Aerospace and Defence businesses. Her elevation is effective as of the first week of August. Prior to this, Bangia was working as a Chief People Officer and a member of board of directors at the group. Bangia comes with more than 25 years of experience in the HR function. She has been associated with the Mahindra Group since June 2012 when she joined as the Head HR for Mahindra Defence Systems. Prior to that, she has worked with firms such as ZTE Telecom, Carlsberg, Canon, Sony, AT&T and Motorola.
Technology in Agriculture
AI enabled predictive analytics helps farm entrepreneurs make informed decisionsedit
Express Computer – Online
Predictive farming analytics uses BI to collate, integrate, and analyse farming data and transform it into meaningful insights that give a peek into the health and volume of crop yields. The information is helpful in making otherwise challenging agronomic decisions quicker and easier, says Amit Sinha, Co-Founder of Unnati, a fintech powered agritech platform