The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday pledged to make 30 million 'Lakhpati Didis', up from the 10 million rural women who have already achieved the feat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday released the BJP's manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The manifesto says the ruling party will continue the quarterly financial disbursements under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM KISAN) yojana.
Ahead of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, keeping food prices under check has emerged as one of the topmost priorities for the government. Food prices would likely have a bearing on the preferences of voters. In the past, there have been instances when governments have been voted out over rising food inflation.
Onion and potato production is expected to be down in the 2023-24 crop year, while the tomato output could be marginally higher, the Department of Agriculture's first advance estimates of horticultural output released on Thursday showed. "Production of onion in 2023-24 is expected to be around 25.47 million tonnes compared to around 30.20 million tonnes last year due to a decrease of 3.43 million tonnes in Maharashtra, 0.99 million tonnes in Karnataka, 0.35 million tonnes in Andhra Pradesh and 0.31 million tonnes in Rajasthan," the official statement by the department of agriculture said.
The central government plans to increase the number of highly beneficial neem trees in the country from the existing one tree for every 50 Indians to one tree for every 10 Indians to meet the rising demand from different sectors for neem oil. Presently, India has 18-20 million neem trees in the country, of which 40-45 per cent are in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu, among others. To achieve the target, the number of neem trees has to rise to almost 140 million.
FSSAI is looking to tap the Airport Health Organisation to ensure that such incidents aren't reported in the future.
A few days back, Atul Ganatra, president of the Cotton Association of India, presented a grim scenario of the crop's prospects in the 2024-25 season that starts in October. Addressing the association's annual general meeting, Ganatra said the area under the crop could go down by at least 10 per cent in the coming season due to falling yields and realisation, leading to farmers losing interest. The fear of a decline in acreage comes against the backdrop of India's cotton production probably falling to its lowest in a decade, according to estimates.
Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran considers absolute poverty a more direct and pressing concern for India. He argues that inequality is a relative concept. Simultaneously, with formerly economically deprived sections joining the ranks of the middle class, policy attention needs to extend beyond 'roti, kapda, makaan' to keep the growth engine up and running.
If states have to fall in line with MSPs declared by political parties, they will have to do so in violation of central order or bear the full expense of the surplus procured at above MSP rates.
'The jester's job, the joker's job, the fool's job is to make fun of people to make them seem beautiful.'
'Sometimes I remind myself to take that moment and think and appreciate that I've been given so much and I've earned it as well.'
'So many butterflies when the movie is released and so much tension. And that is for each and every film.' 'It never changes.'
Among the 44 per cent of Indian students who have used Gen AI in their studies, 60 per cent say it helps them learn faster, 55 per cent say it allows them more creative use of learning, while 51 per cent say it frees up their time.
'When I looked closely at people and stories from that region, I realised that the landscape contributes a lot to how people behave.'
Modi and Chouhan have visited Mahakoshal multiple times and reached out to tribals to shore up support for the BJP.
Like last year, IISc Bangalore, Delhi University and five Indian Institutes of Technology -- Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Kharagpur, Kanpur -- have secured positions in the elite top 100 institutes in Asia.
Doctors warn that overwork is leading to lifestyle diseases like diabetes and spondylitis.
Higher growth in vegetable demand relative to supply in the recent past has led to an upward trend in inflation, with spikes becoming more frequent. A study by rating agency Crisil found that vegetable inflation has been the most volatile in the food category, in fact. Inflation volatility is detrimental for both consumers and farmers and also sidetracks policymakers in the short term, necessitating frequent and repeated price-smoothing measures.
The government's decision to impose a 20 per cent export duty on parboiled rice and a $1,200 per tonne minimum export price (MEP) on basmati rice has pulled down overseas shipments of the former by almost 83 per cent and around 30 per cent of basmati exports in a month. Data sourced from various trade agencies and shippers showed that between August 25 and September 20, export of basmati rice has shrunk from 342,605 tonnes in 2022 to around 241,083 tonnes in 2023. Similarly, export of parboiled rice, after the imposition of 20 per cent duty during the same period, has dropped from 1.16 million tonnes in 2022 to just around 204,190 tonnes in 2023.
Amid the ongoing festival season and ahead of the elections for five state assemblies, the Centre is closely monitoring inflation, particularly in food items, to enable it to take steps to increase their supplies. "There is a complete no-nonsense attitude when it comes to food inflation, and instructions have been issued at all levels to be very sensitive to any possible price movements in any commodity," a senior official explained. Sources have said that all departments dealing with food items have been instructed to keep a close eye on all commodities and maintain a weekly record of their price movements.
The Centre, for the first time, has initiated a draft proposal for setting up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-like institute of national importance for animal health, education and research in Delhi to be called the All India Institute of Veterinary Sciences (AIIVS).
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