The government will take special efforts to ensure adequate credit flow to underserved areas -- the eastern states and Jammu-Kashmir, he added.
Hearing a public interest litigation filed by NGO Amguri Naba Nirman Samity, a high court division bench comprising Chief Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Soumitra Saikia asked the Assam government to file a detailed status report on the case.
Tomar said the next meeting will take place on Saturday at 2 pm which he hoped would take the matter to a decisive stage and towards a final resolution.
The government and farmer unions have held 11 rounds of talks so far, the last being on January 22, to break the deadlock and end the farmers' protest. Talks have not resumed following widespread violence during a tractor rally by protesting farmers on January 26.
'The demands are also the same -- all three 'black' farm laws should be repealed, a new law made to ensure MSP (minimum support price) for crops'
Reading out a reply to the government's talks offer during a press conference, farmers leaders said that they are ready for dialogue with an open mind if they get a concrete proposal, but made it clear they will not accept anything less than a complete repeal of the three agriculture laws and legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP).
Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray has urged Union agriculture minister and Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar to resign from the Union cabinet and come to Maharashtra to protect the interest of farmers reeling under drought.
Barely days after imposing a 40 per cent export tax on onions to cool down soaring prices, which, in turn, triggered widespread protests across the main growing belts, the Centre on Tuesday sought to mitigate both political and economic tensions gripping parts of Maharashtra. It decided to procure an additional 200,000 tonnes of onions at Rs 2,410 per quintal for its buffer stock from farmers, a rate that is strikingly close to the price at which they were being exported before the 40 per cent duty was levied on August 19. The export price before the imposition of the duty stood at around $320 per tonne free on board (approximately Rs 2,650 per quintal).
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu showered gifts on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman when he met her in New Delhi on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.
On the trend of paddy-wheat cycle in Punjab, he said it was not only affecting fertility of the agricultural land, but was also causing depletion of underground water in the state.
The minister, in an eight-page open letter to farmers, said the Modi-government was committed to their welfare and stressed that the new legislations were aimed at benefitting small and marginal farmers.
There are challenges galore before him, and it is not going to be easy. In the next four years, he has to conjure a system that changes the optics about him and the BJP both nationally and internationally so that he can ride back on his own, claim the top slot, and not have to lean on a coalition, asserts Ramesh Menon as Modi 3.0 completes a year in power.
"If any dispute ends by apologising to the Bishnoi community, then what is wrong in it? If a mistake has been made knowingly or unknowingly, then what does Salman Khan lose in apologising?" the farmer leader asked.
Farmer leaders on Monday started their day-long hunger strike against the Centre's new farm laws and said protests will be held at all district headquarters later in the day, even as more people are expected to join the ongoing agitation at Delhi border points.
'We will be hoisting the tiranga, but this kind of celebration is uncalled for when the farmers in this country are dying by suicides, their families are ravaged by poverty and farmers are not enjoying any freedom.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded the Union Budget as a "people's budget" that fulfills the dreams of every Indian and said that it is a "force-multiplier" that will boost consumption, investment and growth. He highlighted a host of measures for different sectors, including welfare initiatives for gig workers, tax relief for the middle class, and support for the manufacturing sector.
Addressing reporters at the Singhu border where they have been protesting for almost two weeks to demand a rollback of the law, the farmer unions also reiterated that they will intensify their agitation and start blocking all highways leading to the national capital.
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Friday said he will take part in a protest planned in Mumbai to express support for farmers agitating against the new agri-marketing laws enacted by the Modi government.
'How can we have lunch offered by the government when our fellow farmers are sitting on roads'
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said that the government, in its letter, mentioned that it wants to hold talks over its earlier proposal of amendments in the new agri laws.
The development came two days after Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that a decision has been taken to provide security to the farmers who will start the cropping season.
Union Cabinet on Thursday approved two major schemes -- PM Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and Krishonnati Yojana -- with an expenditure of over Rs 1 lakh crore to promote sustainable agriculture and ensure food security.
Farming and agriculture are crying out for a business model innovation, says R Gopalakrishnan.
Government's objective is to bring down the cost of cultivation through efficient use of fertilisers and agro chemicals, and increase in realisation. It is, thus, planning to connect 200 agricultural mandis with electronic National Agricultural Mandis this year and 225 next year, to enable farmers to sell their produce hassle-free online.
The Rural Development Ministry has been allocated Rs 1.88 lakh crore in the Union Budget for 2025-26, around 5.75 per cent more than the allocation in the previous budget.
Justice Krishna S Dixit, presiding over a single judge bench, issued notice to the parties concerned and paused the ongoing investigation.
The delegation of 20 'progressive farmers' from Haryana, led by Padma Shri awardee Kanwal Singh Chauhan, said the government may amend some provisions of the laws but should not repeal them.
Punjab footballer Tony Sandhu and Kabaddi player Mangi Bagga from Punjab's Shahkot started the initiative to help protesters with accommodation at the Singhu border. The makeshift arrangement is currently being used by approximately 2,000 people.
The next meeting has been scheduled for January 22, a day after the farmer unions hold their internal discussions on Thursday, farmer leaders said after the 10th round of talks ended at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi after nearly five hours of talks, including two breaks.
'Due to this sudden phenomenon, guests stopped visiting the homes of these villages, girls and boys from these villages were not getting proposals; students were reluctant to attend schools and colleges for fear of being shamed.'
The Congress expressed its 'whole-hearted' support to the 'Bharat bandh' called by farmer unions against the new agri-marketing laws and announced that it will hold protests that day at all district and state headquarters in solidarity with the demands of the farmers. TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the party rank and file would actively participate in the bandh to ensure it was a success.
Heckling, confrontation and strong-arm tactics don't come to him easily, reveals Aditi Phadnis.
The Centre on Friday said that no farmer died due to police action during the year-long protests by farmers.
Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Sunday clarified that the government has no plans to bring back the recently repealed farm laws, and urged farmers to be wary of 'confusion' being created by the Congress on this issue.
The decision, which comes ahead of the state assembly elections, underscores the cow's spiritual, scientific, and historical significance in Indian society, an official said. It highlights the integral role that cows have played in India's cultural landscape for centuries, he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday released Rs 20,946 crore to 10.09 crore farmers across India as the 10th installment of financial aid under the PM-KISAN scheme and said there was a need for innovation in agriculture along with promotion of natural farming. Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year is provided to the eligible farmer families, payable in three equal installments of Rs 2,000. The PM-KISAN scheme was announced in the February 2019 Budget.
Union Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has come out in strong defence of Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari. In an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN's Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai he says Gadkari was working for development of farmers and there was no evidence of personal corruption against him, as alleged by Team Kejriwal.
The government's negotiations with protesting farm unions hit a roadblock on Friday as the farmer leaders stuck to their demands for a complete repeal of three farm laws they find pro-corporate and a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP), even as the Centre asked them to reconsider its proposal for putting the Acts on hold for 12-18 months.
The agriculture ministry also reiterated it is ready to find a "logical solution" to the issues raised by protesting farmer unions.
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