Finding itself trapped in a cul de sac, all things considered, a negotiated climbdown at this juncture seems the only sensible course available for the Centre, suggests Virendra Kapoor.
Farmer organisations also called for boycott of mandis or wholesale markets in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Mahrashtra, leading to fears of shortage and price rise.
Renowned agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan and the driving force behind the nation's 'Green Revolution,' passed away in Chennai on Thursday.
Dr Shreekant Sambrani pays tribute to M S Swaminathan, renowned agricultural scientist and a lifelong crusader against hunger who passed away in Chennai recently.
'These three commodities have been chosen very well.' 'It is up to the state governments and central government to see how it is implemented.' 'The government has to do some hand-holding.'
'I have serious doubts about the longevity of the NDA government and the longevity of the 18th Lok Sabha itself.'
'Modigate is snowballing into a huge thing with the electorate. The BJP is in for huge punishment by the electorate.'
'What is bank recapitalisation? When the rich take loans and do not return and the government returns that money to the banks.' 'What is restructuring 5:25 scheme? The government says don't return now, just tell us you will return after five years.' 'Why don't we apply these schemes to farmers?' 'I want to increase the power of farmers to blackmail the government as everyone in the country has the power to blackmail.'
Constituencies that are going to the polls in the first phase, slated for April 19, have just 19 days for campaigning. Contrast that with those going to polls in the 7th phase, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The high-level panel also asked the government to work towards re-orienting subsidies in a targeted manner from the crop sector to the non-crop sector and redesign the electronic National Agriculture Market.
The Congress chief said if his party is elected to power, its government would spend 6 per cent of the GDP on education.
Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, speaking on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, charged the government with not delivering on its various promises, including generating two crore jobs per year.
A large number of rich farmers, who earn more than salaried employees in the cities, get away with paying no tax at all in view of the government's lack of will to consider an agricultural income tax
'What should surprise BJP supporters is Modi's call for 'stability' at the manifesto launch, a theme that he and his team members had not touched ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019.' 'The last time the party called for 'stability at the Centre' was in 1998 and 1999,' recalls N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Four years into his tenure and Modi still has no idea what is wrong with the agriculture sector!'
India assured the EU it would put in place measures to ensure cargoes are free from pests
Livelihoods and lives are being destroyed in the name of building a 'better' India, writes Congress leader Sachin Pilot, in an exclusive column for Rediff.com.
The minimum support price for the rabi season will not radically alter the falling trajectory of farm incomes
The Congress released a booklet 'Nau saal, Nau sawaal', asking nine questions from Modi. The BJP rejected the Congress' criticism as a 'bundle of lies and mountain of deception' and said the questions are born out of 'pathological hatred' of the PM.
'By 2020 around 34% of India's population will be in the 15-34 age group.' 'More than 70% of them live in rural areas.' 'Their energy and enthusiasm need to be tapped in order to meet their aspirations and transform agriculture and the rural economy,' says P K Joshi.
'In this country, if any government acquires one of these images -- anti-farmer, or anti-poor or corrupt -- the government doesn't survive.' 'The Modi government is fast acquiring that anti-farmer image, that is why it is nervous.'
Ahead of the general elections, a slew of states and also the Centre had doled out sops to the marginalised sections, including the farmers and the poor.
Gehlot made the announcement in the presence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi at a rally here on the sidelines of the "Bharat Jodo Yatra".
A provision of Rs 15,000 crore has been made in the budgetary estimate of 2016-17 towards interest subvention.
'Who sent Masood Azhar back to Pakistan? Who bowed down to terror and released him? Not the Congress, but it was the BJP government'
In two months, as many as 25 complaints have been sent to Enforcement Directorate, Competition Commission of India, Reserve Bank of India and income tax department, beside various state agencies, to thwart the deal.
'The Khalistanis get bulk of the money from abroad.' 'Where did Amritpal's Mercedes come from, which costs well over Rs 60 lakhs?' 'Where does his fleet of vehicles come from?' 'Local Punjabis can certainly not contribute this kind of money.'
India must do away with policy paralysis to ensure growth in agriculture.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday presented the Budget for 2021-22 in the Lok Sabha that is expected to provide relief to the pandemic-hit common man as well as focus more on driving economic recovery through higher spending on healthcare, infrastructure and defence amid rising tensions with neighbours, As India emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, the ninth Budget under the Modi government, including an interim one, is widely expected to focus on boosting spending on job creation and rural development, generous allocations for development schemes, putting more money in the hands of the average taxpayer and easing rules to attract foreign investments.
'In May 2020-2021, nearly 10 crores (100 million) lost jobs. 'Covid is not the reason for the present crisis. It aggravated the crisis.'
The government should set up a dedicated fund to rescue Indian agriculture.
Agricultural incomes can be taxed without hurting farmers, as a substantial section - the small and marginal ones - will remain outside the tax net simply because their incomes are likely to be below the basic exemption limit of Rs 250,000 per annum that is extended to all taxpayers in India, finds out Ishan Bakshi.
In fact, the Taliban apparently collects about 10 per cent as cultivation tax from opium farmers and 15 per cent as heroin tax from laboratories and smugglers that smuggle narcotics into Pakistan. This, by itself, is a revenue stream estimated at USD 250-300 million.
The opposition has attacked the Modi government over the National Democratic Alliance's last full-fledged budget before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Sanjeev Nayyar offers a roster of things to do to see the India of our dreams.
The protests brought home the fact that the Sri Lankan public is in no mood for halfway measures, as voices against Rajapaksa 'family rule' and 'securitisation' of the civilian administration began sidestepping the more critical economic crisis, affecting the nation and afflicting the individual, observes Sri Lanka watcher N Sathiya Moorthy.
NITI Aayog has been working on an action plan to relieve rural distress and energise the agricultural sector
'Event management can distract from, but not permanently mask, execution failures,' points out Rathin Roy, director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
The campaign's main theme song 'Main hi toh Hindustan hoon' has been penned by Javed Akhtar.
'The man who has been Gujarat's chief minister for 13 years has no understanding of the ills affecting the farmers and agriculture in India.'
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