-The Indian Express An enduring solution to India’s water woes lies in buffer stocking during monsoon months and release during lean seasons. Till June end this year, the government was worried about how to cope with back-to-back drought. But by the second half of August, the scene changed dramatically and several states were in the spate of floods. In Bihar, more than five million people have been affected and 6,50,000 displaced from...

Rising prices of dal: How to deal with it? The 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses. In India, however, ordinary citizens are under enormous duress due to the skyrocketing prices of dal/ lentils since the last one year. The website of Price Monitoring Cell of the Department of Consumer Affairs shows that dal prices varied across places. For example, the...

-The Hindu Business Line Bengaluru: Pulses such as tur (arhar), urad, moong, and oilseeds — mainly groundnut and sunflower — and maize have turned out to be the hot favourites of farmers, who have brought a larger area under these crops in the ongoing kharif planting season. The prevailing high prices, coupled with an increase in the support price and bonus incentive announced by the Centre, is the main reason farmers in...

Situation alarming: More than one-third population hit by drought   The country is facing severe drought for the second consecutive year. Conservative estimates from official sources show that over a quarter of rural habitations are facing drinking water scarcity. Although both India Meteorological Department and Skymet have predicted a more than normal rainfall during June-September, 2016, the water storage available in 91 major reservoirs of the country has declined from 22 percent...

-The Financial Express On December 21, 2013, the General Assembly of the United Nations voted to proclaim 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (IYP). On December 21, 2013, the General Assembly of the United Nations voted to proclaim 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (IYP). It followed unanimous votes in favour of declaring IYP 2016 by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in April and June 2013. An International...