The irony of this scheme to benefit farmers is that it could add to the problems for the government because the mechanism to procure and store crops like pulses, coarse cereals and oilseeds barely exists.
India's foodgrain production is estimated to decline by 7.51 per cent to 216.85 million tonnes in the 2009-10 season mainly due to a fall in summer output owing to the worst drought in 30 years.
The Election Commission on Monday issued a notice to Union Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar for alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct for the October 13 assembly elections in Maharshtra.
Onion has become costlier by over 33 per cent in the last one week and over 70 per cent in September so far, reports Dilip Kumar Jha.
Food grains production in the country would go down by 10-15 per cent in the current fiscal due to deficient rainfall, an Agriculture Ministry official said.
The core stir issues of remunerative prices and a basic income for farmers has taken a political turn with three major agrarian states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh going to the polls in the next few months
Though three crops of onions are raised in a year - early kharif, late kharif and rabi - their harvests are not evenly spread out.
The Consumer Price Index hit the lowest in six months in March at 4.83 per cent.
Higher prices of onion and other vegetables and fruits pushed up inflation to 6.46 per cent in September.
As of the week ended July 2017, the unemployment rate was 3.1 per cent. This is the lowest unemployment rate recorded. Rural unemployment was also very low at 2.8 per cent.
The government's decision to downplay the monsoon's failure has only worsened its credibility and will lead to a worse panic
These decisions were announced by food and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his cabinet colleagues were briefed on the monsoon situation and Kharif sowing. Allaying fears of shortage of foodgrain, Pawar said, "Stock position is quite comfortable. We have sufficient stock position for 13 months in our kitty".
Under the Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana, the state pays a portion of the loss incurred by farmers for selling below the MSP, capped up to a limit.
A five-seven per cent agriculture growth in 2013-14 would mean farming might exceed the 12th Five-Year Plan annual growth target of four per cent, if the trend continues.
The total water stock in the country's 81 major reservoirs is still 57 per cent of their live storage capacity, falling 12 per cent short of the normal level for this time. This is a cause for concern for both irrigation and hydro power production.
The outlook of a negative growth in agriculture comes on the back of the Indian Meteorological Department's revised rainfall forecast and uncertain impact of mitigants such as ground water harvesting and modification of cropping patterns.
Prices of agricultural commodities have risen 23 per cent so far this month.
The monsoon situation and its consequences for different sectors of economy was reviewed in a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 12.
They are worried that the Kharif crop may not be sown at the usual time in June, which accounts for 163 mm of 890 mm for the entire monsoon season. They\nfear that they may be forced to sell their land in order to repay their debts and\nmove to cities like Mumbai or Delhi in search of work as labourers.
The prolonged break in the rainy season that has caused widespread concern over the delay in kharif sowing is finally ending with the monsoon likely to advance into Mumbai and adjoining parts of Maharashtra in two or three days.
Neither the CAA nor the proposed NRC are important enough to stake the well-being of so many or stake economic growth. Getting growth back on track is more important, notes Mahesh Vyas.
'It is a shame for a woman to defecate in the open.'
The alleged 'water blockade' by India could adversely affect kharif crops, particularly cotton and sugarcane that are in maturity stage and require final watering, and the sowing of rabi crops early next month, sources told the Dawn newspaper.
After a delayed start, the monsoon is advancing steadily.
Cabinet sub-committee to meet to review the situation and take necessary steps. Sanjay Jog reports
NSO has pegged economic growth at 5 per cent in 2019-20 in its second advance estimates.
Procurement by the end of this season is likely to touch a new record of 29-30 million tonnes, surpassing the earlier high of 28.4 million tonnes. The country's rice output in 2008-09 is also estimated at an all-time record of 98.89 million tonnes. Punjab has been the largest contributor to the rice stock at 8.38 million tonnes, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chattisgarh. Procurement is up in all top-producing states except in Haryana and Chattisgarh.
'When I met the prime minister on November 15 there was no RBI report with the prime minister as to why this was done.' 'When I asked the PMO officer about this, he said the RBI did not bring this to the PM and did it independently.' 'When I asked how could the RBI ban DCCBs from accepting deposits from farmers in old notes when the government gazette released on November 9 allowed them to do so, this officer told me that not even senior PMO officials had any idea about this RBI ban.'
Rajan also said the outlook for agriculture is subdued, in view of both rabi and kharif prospects being hit by monsoon vagaries.
According to agriculture department officials, the state is heading for a bumper paddy harvest despite a slight reduction in acreage compared with the previous year.
'Political parties bring out money they have stashed away and start spending it. How large that spending will be depends on how much money has been stashed. So, you are going to have a strong upside coming from the election effect,' says Pronab Sen.
Successful boro cropping with record high yields has brought a degree of fame to Rajib
The southwest monsoon which reached the country on May 30 well within its normal onset date
Swarms of immature pink locusts and adult yellow locusts are currrently active. Not only are fresh locusts swarms expected to arrive in the coming weeks, but even those already present in India have mated and are breeding new offspring.
The government will take special efforts to ensure adequate credit flow to underserved areas -- the eastern states and Jammu-Kashmir, he added.
Skymet said September would be much better and it expects it to end at 111 per cent of the LPA
Expect Modi to speak about internal security, terrorism, agriculture, the Triple Talaq Bill, the SC/ST Bill and, of course, the controversial NRC.
Steady progress in June; north and central regions to get good pre-showers
Through increase in import duty, the government aims to help domestic oilseed crushers and edible oil producers who suffered badly last year due to cheap imports
The hardening of the Wholesale Price Index follows an uptick in retail inflation.
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