'We have tags of state animals and birds. However, the invisible world of microbes is doing a lot of things for us in nature, not just for human beings but for the entire life.'
Cattle trade has been suspended in several weekly markets in Jalna district, Maharashtra, following allegations of harassment and attacks by cow vigilantes. Traders cite prolonged legal battles and selective targeting as reasons for the boycott.
India Inc on Sunday hailed the Union Budget 2026-27 as a 'structural shift' in the country's technology landscape, noting that the government is moving beyond fragmented pilots to build foundational layers where AI serves as a 'horizontal enabler' for the entire economy.
The passing of bills without Parliament, including the treasury benches, having any real understanding of what they contained through any rigorous process has accelerated through the Modi era, points out Aakar Patel.
According to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, the revival in the agriculture sector has been due to the record production of 216 million tonnes of foodgrains, 22.7 million bales of cotton and 345 million tonnes of sugarcane in 2006-07. He said this revival was a result of the amendments made in the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee Acts by the various state governments with the guidelines of the centre.
A group of onion traders gathered at the Pimpalgaon Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), near Nashik, to inspect one of the season's final harvests of red onions as they look to place their bids. They were surrounded by farmers, who brought their produce here from different parts of the district. Farmers have reasons to be optimistic.
Zende along with a group of traders met joint commissioner of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma and apprised him about the calls.
'If the BJP seriously addresses employment, examination integrity and systemic corruption, they might salvage their position. Otherwise, they are heading toward serious trouble in 2027.'
Tomato prices have been on the boil for more than a month. Data from major cities show that the spike has been between 125 and 150 per cent at the wholesale level. Soaring vegetable prices, including tomatoes, pushed the retail inflation rate to a nine-month high of 5.49 per cent in September, according to government data. Though reports say prices are expected to come down in the next few weeks after supplies improve from Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, how long will the respite last is anybody's guess.
From a high of Rs 140 per kg in the wholesale market a few weeks ago, the prices of tomatoes have come down sharply in parts of Karnataka to about Rs 20 as supply of the commodity has improved substantially, officials said on Monday. In the Mysuru APMC (Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee) yard, for example, tomato prices were down to Rs 14 per kg on Sunday.
Tomato prices are likely to touch Rs 300 per kilogram in the coming days and the prices of vegetables are also on the rise, according to wholesale traders. Kaushik, a member of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), said that vegetable wholesalers are facing losses as the sale of tomato, capsicum, and other seasonal vegetables has fallen drastically. He said that the prices of tomatoes have shot up to Rs 220 per kilo from Rs 160 per kilo in the wholesale market, owing to which retail prices can also go up.
'The Bhashini Mission has delivered a working technology at large scale, which is as good as or better than the one with MNC tech giants.'
Amid the political blame game over Bengal's potato ban, which led to shortages in Jharkhand and Odisha, Uttar Pradesh farmers are the unlikely winners.
'Marathwada is the suicide capital of Maharashtra.' 'To stop such man-made disasters, the government should immediately come up with a rightful package, not this charitable approach to compensation.'
Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said only farm revolution can make it possible. He also stressed on scrapping Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee and some old laws like Essential Commodites Act, which restrict movement of farm produces.
The Budget has stuck to annual increases in agri credit targets.
Maharashtra minister Dada Bhuse said the decision to impose export duty should have been taken with proper coordination.
Recent documents by NITI Aayog and periodic labour force surveys on employment show that the importance of agriculture is rising in the Indian economy.
Fourteen states that include Maharashtra, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan have amended the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act this year. This allows farmers to sell their produce directly to buyers offering them the best price.
Three key agriculture Bills, approved by the Lok Sabha, are facing staunch opposition from within the ruling coalition with senior minister Harsmirat Kaur Badal resigning in protest and farmers hitting the street.
"Democracy has been shamed by the manner in which the government passed death warrants against farmers in the form of two farm bills in Rajya Sabha," he tweeted.
Regulated electronic platforms such as e-spot markets or spot exchanges may be deemed as authorised markets.
The government's annual Economic Survey on Friday strongly defended new farm laws, saying they herald a new era of market freedom which can go a long way in improving lives of small and marginal farmers in India. These legislations were designed "primarily" for the benefit of "small and marginal farmers", which constitute around 85 per cent of the total number of farmers and are the biggest sufferer of the "regressive" APMC-regulated market regime, the survey said. The pre-budget document defended the farm laws in the backdrop of long-running farmers' agitation at various borders of the national capital seeking repeal of these legislations expressing concern that they are pro-corporate and could weaken government regulated mandis, also called Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the government is committed towards procurement of agri crops at minimum support price (MSP) and termed it as an important part of the country's food security. He further said that efforts are being made to improve mandi infrastructure so that MSP buying continues in a scientific way.
The apex biz chamber said that there is an urgent need to make contract farming legal.
Buddha countermands Forward Bloc's rejection of German wholesaler's permit.
The government data released on May 17 showed a minor dip in headline inflation to 8.66 per cent in April, driven by a moderation in food and manufactured items prices.
Amendments to the Agriculture Produce Market Committees Act have opened floodgates for private companies and online commodity exchange in Gujarat.
The notification allows farmers to directly sell fresh produce to consumers, rather than through agriculture produce marketing committees.
India's good old 'mandis' are all set to make way for swanky spot exchanges soon. In two months' time, winds of change will sweep across the country's agricultural sector with the launch of electronic spot exchanges.
A barrier-free market -- coupled with removal of controls, licensing system, intermediaries and state-imposed levies on farm commodities -- will benefit both sellers and buyers.
The city government will bring an amendment to the APMC Act for facilitating direct purchase of produce from farmers.
It has decided not to levy the 2 per cent tax deducted at source (TDS) on cash payments above Rs 1 crore made through Agricultural Produce Market Committees.
Vegetable vendors and wholesalers have blamed rains for disruption in tomato supply, leading to the price of the kitchen staple skyrocketing in retail markets of the national capital. Local vendors are selling tomatoes in the price range of Rs 80 to Rs 120 per kg, depending on the quality and the localities. Anil Malhotra, a member of the Azadpur Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), said tomato prices shoot up every monsoon but it was never this high.
The Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee law allows mandis to remain in the grip of a middlemen cartel, with clear links to politicians who run the governments.
The new laws aim at fetching fair price for farmers' produce and give them liberty to sell it wherever they wish, the Union minister further said.
The Maharashtra government on Friday announced a series of measures to combat inflation. These include making available essential commodities like pulses, edible oil and grains at concessional rates and allowing direct sale of farm produce to consumers, bypassing the Agriculture Produce Market Committee.
India's leading commodity bourse - the Multi-Commodity Exchange - is in negotiations with the Andhra Pradesh government to set up spot exchanges in the state.
Anand is still "technically" a minister although he has resigned, officials said.
It was Bharatiya Janata Party's turn to face revolt from a section of the party leaders on Friday who failed to get nominations in the first list of 84 party candidates announced Thursday night.
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