Hindustan Times

The Punjab agriculture department has mooted an ambitious farm diversification plan to boost cultivation of maize, the state’s traditional staple grain, as an industrial crop to be used as biofuel. Under a plan for this year, the state authorities have set a target to cultivate kharif maize on a record 2 lakh hectares, an increase of about 106% as compared to last year, by replacing the water-guzzling paddy crop.