-Livemint.com The broad approach will be to raise net farm incomes per unit by reducing costs of cultivation, increasing yields and ensuring higher market returns on the produce New Delhi: In a bid to draw up a plan on ways to double farmer incomes by 2022, the agriculture ministry is holding a series of consultations, seeking suggestions from stakeholders ranging from seed and fertilizer associations to research organizations and farmers. The wide ranging...

-The Financial Express The one irrefutable lesson from MGNREGA, is that once introduced, there will be no going back India is one of the most unequal countries in the world. In terms of Gini coefficient, i.e., measure of income inequity, India ranks a dismal 135 out of 187 countries. This means that most of the prosperity that an increasingly economically liberalised India is seeing, belongs primarily to the top-income percentiles. One in...

-The Hindu Business Line Prices have started to fall already; the State agencies have to ramp-up procurement at least this year Wheat farmers in Uttar Pradesh are a worried lot. Procurement of the foodgrain by government agencies in the State is meagre and a likely bumper harvest this year is stoking fears of a further slide in prices. UP contributes almost a third to the country’s total wheat production, with an annual output...

-The Hindu Social security cover for all, even informal workers, is an ambitious target for the Centre and stumbling blocks pave its path. The Union government on Thursday proposed an ambitious law to provide social security net to the 47.41 crore-strong workforce of the country. The proposed code on ‘Social Security and Welfare’ intends to make a drastic shift in the social security framework of the country from an employment-based approach to a...

-Down to Earth It is estimated that saving one-fourth of the food currently lost or wasted globally would be enough to feed 870 million hungry people in the world Agriculture, along with its allied sectors, is the largest source of livelihood in India. About 82 per cent of the country’s farmers are small and marginal, having holdings less than one hectare. Over the years, irrigation potential has increased largely due to increased...