Pawar was the deputy CM twice in the 15-year regime of Congress-NCP alliance in Maharashtra during 1999-2014.
Six people have lost their lives so far in the Cyclone Tauktae-hit coastal and surrounding Malnad districts of Karnataka, officials said.
The scheme, which would give Rs 6,000 to small farmers in a year or Rs 500 a month, will add more money to the account of these cultivators than the money he/she saves every month on an average.
"We will keep an eye on the situation in Maharashtra. Congress and NCP leaders will hold further talks on the future course of action," he added.
Adequate security and Covid safety measures have been put in place for the electoral exercise.
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had sent in a request to the President for visiting Baramati in Maharashtra to see the all round development made in the areas of agriculture, irrigation and town planning.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a forum comprising 40 farmer unions, called for a Bharat Bandh on Monday against the Centre's three agriculture laws. Here is its impact across the country:
Rediff Labs analyses 2015 NCRB data on farmer suicides for each state in India.
Among the key demands of agitating farmers has been a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP). The protest reached a crescendo when thousands of farmers from Punjab and elsewhere marched towards Delhi late last year and decided to block the main entry points once they were denied entry. The Centre, on its part, held 11 rounds of discussions with the protesters and even offered to amend some of the provisions without much success. With now one of their chief demands met, farmers have now moved on to force the government to concede on MSP.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, which is spearheading the protest against the Centre's three new agri-marketing laws, told the MPs the 'Voters' Whip' overrides their party whips.
A newspaper vendor from Neknoor in Maharashtra tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar what he would like to see in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget.
In the retail markets, fresh onion is sold between Rs 10 and Rs 12 a kg. Now, farmers have to sell onion at a loss of Rs 2-3 per kg if transport cost is included.
'They attack standing crops and vegetables.' 'They don't attack people.' 'People are just panicking.'
The consumer buying patterns and preferences have changed significantly with categories like health and pharma, FMCG and agriculture seeing a surge and exponential growth along with the rising number of first-time online shoppers.
The Maharashtra Kisan Sabha announced that the strike will be intensified in the coming days.
Former RBI governors Urjit Patel and Raghuram Rajan have also expressed worry about the Mudra scheme, particularly government's target-setting practice and the rising bad loans.
The Sena leader said the protesters are India's own farmers and the government should have a dialogue with them.
'While dairy farmers are suffering from low prices, consumers are paying a high price for milk.'
Rediff reader D N Basavaraj, 40 from Davangere tells us about his first job and salary.
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.
Data from the Nashik-based National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation showed that onion was trading at at Rs 24 a kg on Tuesday in the benchmark Lasalgaon mandi in Nashik district of Maharashtra. That's a fall of four per cent since Monday and 40 per cent from Rs 40 a kg on January 20, a level not seen since November 6, 2019. It continues to sell at Rs 40-44 a kg in retail markets across the country.
Pawar asked Modi why he was daring Opposition leaders to bring back Article 370 of the Constitution after it was nullified by Parliament in August.
Ahead of the assembly elections, the saffron allies may be ecstatic over the swelling, but it's a double-edged sword with many older leaders wondering what they have got after putting in years of hard work, reports Radhika Ramaseshan
The big cat walked across two states for five months.
'Sharad Pawar has taught us how to raise farm productivity and also how to form a government with less member of MLAs in the legislative assembly'
He said though there was a "ray of hope", certain issues he had flagged remained unresolved.
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.
India needs to spread irrigation and do so against a backdrop of rising water scarcity and depleting groundwater resources
Prices have continued to move up in Delhi's markets, wholesale and retail, on supply worries and spoilage due to record cold weather.
The fear of price rise gained momentum after reports surfaced that the NAFED procured 50,000 tonnes of onion this season.
By June 14, the monsoon should have reached central India. But this year it hasn't even covered Karnataka properly or entered the Northeast.
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.
A clear message was that the ongoing seven-decade-old model of agriculture, based on extensive reliance on subsidy by the government at every stage, was not going to work, said NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar.
'We know each other for quite some time.' 'He could provide stability to the country for five years.' 'But he could not provide confidence to the countrymen that he is our leader.'
A bill to modify the list of scheduled castes in Tamil Nadu by grouping of seven castes which presently exist as separate castes, was passed by the Lok Sabha on Friday.
There are instances -- both from national and state elections -- of economic under-performers being returned to power, and also of parties being thrown out despite good performance, observes T N Ninan.
'In the long run, the boost to farmers' incomes must come from technological breakthroughs,' says Pratap S Birthal and Digvijay S Negi.
Noting there have been instances of "excess" by police and paramilitary personnel against the migrant workers, the court also asked authorities to consider "withdrawal" of criminal cases against some of them for violating social distancing norms.
Members of the Legislative Council asked how some former legislators could enter the Vidhan Bhavan premises amid COVID-19-related restrictions and sought a report on the matter.
Governments must encourage micro-irrigation, use of natural manure and pesticides in a big way. Farm income can be doubled by reducing cost as much as by increasing MSP, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
