-The Hindu Dreze made the statement in an interview with The Hindu following a survey in six States, including West Bengal. Under a month of its emphatic victory in Bengal election a very definitive reason of Trinamool Congress’ [TMC] success was indicated by economist Jean Dreze. The Public Distribution System [PDS] has performed “enormously well” in Bengal, since the passage of the National Food Security Act [NFSA] in 2013, said Mr Dreze. Mr...

-Livemint.com At present, the government procures about 1.5 lakh tonnes of pulses, and this will be enhanced to eight lakh tonnes New Delhi: In a significant decision to tame rising pulse prices, the Centre has decided to raise buffer stocks by over five times. At present, the government procures about 1.5 lakh tonnes of pulses, and this will be enhanced to eight lakh tonnes. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting...

-The Indian Express After Delhi, it is Maharashtra’s turn to attempt liberating fruits & vegetables from APMC shackles. Pune/ Vashi: Spread over 70 hectares land off the Old Mumbai-Pune highway, it’s a place where more than Rs 10,000 crore worth of fruits, vegetables and other farm produce gets traded annually. But right now, it’s also the scene of a prabodhan, a mass awakening campaign by traders and commission agents that could gather...

-The Hindu To develop genes that can be integrated into traditional varieties for larger outputs The Union government is working to develop a suite of Bt cotton genes that can be integrated into traditional varieties and be made available to farmers as a viable alternative to the current technology, which is largely sourced from Mahyco Monsanto Biotech India Ltd. (MMB). The Indian Council of Agricultural Research has for many years unsuccessfully tried to...

-Livemint.com New Delhi: Back from a walk through drought-affected parts of the country, Yogendra Yadav, political scientist and co-founder of non-profit Swaraj Abhiyan, speaks on state compliance of Supreme Court orders, a booming private water market in Marathwada, and why farmer movements are weakest at a time when agrarian distress is at its peak. Edited excerpts from an interview: * You just came back from a trip to Bundelkhand and Marathwada. What...