The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) election manifesto for 2014 Lok Sabha election says that if elected to the Centre, it will then "(p)ut in place welfare measures for farmers above 60 years in age, small and marginal farmers and farm labours", among other things. Despite the formation of a BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre in 2014, the latest available data on farm suicides from the...

-The New Indian Express BENGALURU: The number of suicides among the farming community in the state doubled in 2015 as compared to 2014, according to the Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2015 report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The recently released report showed that several factors such as bankruptcy, crop failure and illness were among the major reasons for the suicides. Karnataka also recorded the second highest number of...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: Farmer suicides in the country rose by 42% between 2014 and 2015, according to newly released data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). It recorded 5,650 suicides by farmers and cultivators in 2014. The figure rose to 8,007 in the latest data. Several states across the country battled severe drought in both 2014 and 2015. Some, including Maharashtra, experienced two successive years of drought. With 3,030 cases,...

-Livemint.com Of the total 12,602 farm sector suicides in 2015, 8,007 were farmers while 4,595 were agricultural labourers New Delhi: A widespread drought and rising indebtedness led to 12,602 suicides by farmers and agricultural labourers in 2015, shows data released by the National Crime Records Bureau. According to the report ‘Accidental deaths and suicides in India 2015’, the total number of suicides in the farming sector is 2% higher than the 12,360 recorded...

-Frontline.in Interview with Utsa Patnaik, professor emerita of economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University. By T.K. RAJALAKSHMI THE FALLOUT of the decision of the National Democratic Alliance government to demonetise currency of higher denominations has been felt across all sections of people. There are concerns that it will lead to an overall economic slowdown given the acute shortage of currency for industrial and agricultural operations. The impact on agriculture and those dependent on agriculture...