-Livemint.com The difference between wholesale and retail prices was as high as 52% for a variety of pulses, shows an analysis of available data New Delhi: High prices of pulse varieties have been a constant point of worry for consumers and governments over the past year. While consecutive years of deficit rain cut supplies, leading to higher imports and a spike in prices, what went unnoticed is the divergence between retail...

-The Financial Express With a number of states commencing rollout of the National Food Security Act, 2013, only in the last couple of months, the government has decided to extend the rate at which highly subsidised grains are currently being supplied to states for distribution through the public distribution system (PDS) till end of the current fiscal. Sources told FE that the Centre would continue to provide subsidy so as to enable...

-The Hindu This is hardly a rice ready for cultivation by farmers — it has not even entered the stage of biosafety evaluation by government regulatory institutions. Recently 110 Nobel Laureates issued a strongly worded plea to Greenpeace to “abandon their campaign against [genetically modified organisms] in general and Golden Rice in particular.” This is not the first time notable scientists have waded into the controversy surrounding genetically modified (GM) crops. What...

-The Hindu Business Line The PMUY scheme, under which the poor get subsidised LPG connection, addresses an urgent need. At the same time, it can turn out to be a political masterstroke for the BJP, write Richa Mishra and Debabrata Das The kitchen has always played an important role in Indian politics. Leaders across political parties have cooked their electoral fortunes with the kitchen as the integral ingredient. While some distributed highly...

-Livemint.com Overall foodgrain output, however, rose marginally to 252.22 mt in FY16, farm ministry’s advance estimates show New Delhi: The crippling drought over the past year failed to impact India’s overall foodgrain production but led to the lowest production of pulses in six years, showed the fourth advance estimates released by the agriculture ministry on Tuesday. In fact, according to the ministry, foodgrain production rose marginally—from 252.02 million tonnes (mt) in 2014-15 to 252.22...