-Livemint.com Average profit margin of farmers on all pulse varieties except gram (chickpeas) fell by 30% in 2016-17 year-on-year due to a record harvest and adverse government policies, said the CRISIL report New Delhi: The profitability of poor farmers in India who are dependent on rain-fed irrigation and grow pulses fell sharply during 2016-17 due to a record harvest and adverse government policies, said a report released on Monday. Average profit margin of...

-Deccan Chronicle Jowar sown on 15,625 acres in Mahbubnagar district, and on 1,695 acres in Nagarkurnool has dried up. Hyderabad: The poor Monsoon this year, resulting in a prolonged dry spell, has destroyed crops, especially in five districts of the state. The cotton crop sown on 24,875 acres in Ranga Reddy district has been lost, though elsewhere it has done well. Jowar sown on 15,625 acres in Mahbubnagar district, and on 1,695 acres...

-NDTV The Modi government is finally getting some flak, as it should, for its confused economic policies, epitomised by the demonetisation blunder last year. Despite relatively favourable circumstances (including good Monsoons and a decline in international fuel prices), the rate of economic growth is declining quarter after quarter. For manufacturing, it is even close to zero, according to the latest estimates. Statistics related to employment and wages are even more worrying....

-Hindustan Times Of the affected states are also those announced farm loan waivers just months ago to bail out beleaguered farming community. With the southwest Monsoon season about to end in less than three weeks’ time, the government’s drought warning system predicts there could be a drought in 225 districts across “17 agriculturally important states of India,” putting further strain on distressed agriculture sector. According to the government’s National Agriculture and Drought...

-The Indian Express Prices crashed last year because there was a glut in imports during a year of record production. Government has not corrected the policy snags that led to this anomaly. Pulses are an interesting and unique commodity group in the Indian agri-food space. The country ranks first not only in their production and consumption, but also their import. Domestic absorption in recent years (2012-13 to 2015-16) has hovered between 21...