-The Financial Express The government’s move to roll out the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) from the ongoing kharif season has got a boost with 18 agriculturally critical states, including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha and Maharashtra, having floated tenders to identify insurers who will offer the scheme to farmers. According to agriculture ministry data, Rajasthan has completed the bidding process for identifying insurance companies...

-Livemint.com There is an emphasis on increasing farm productivity, but this might not always align with greater profitability While inaugurating the Krishi Mela at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for a “three-pillared” approach to farming, which included crop farming, agro forestry—that is, planting timber trees along farm peripheries—and animal husbandry. This is an important enunciation of how Indian agriculture works as an integrated system in...

-The Hindu Business Line The priority for this government is to promote the medical care market, not ensure universal healthcare for the majority Those at the helm of policymaking in the country have been, for some time, strongly advocating austerity as the principle for public expenditure policies, particularly for the social sectors. Arvind Panagariya, the vice-chairperson of the NITI Aayog, suggests that “for just three-quarters of a per cent of the GDP”, 0.76...

-Business Standard Await go-ahead signal from ministry of agriculture for their use Mumbai: Private Insurance Companies are using drones to photograph farms and if permitted by the agriculture ministry these could provide data to calculate crop yield. Insurers are using unmanned aerial vehicles as a pilot scheme. The agriculture ministry has called for use of such modern technology for the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). Drones have not gained widespread commercial use, as...

-The Hindu Business Line Firms of Adani, Anil Ambani, Essar, JSW Groups and some PSUs being probed NEW DELHI: The Finance Ministry and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) are said to have stepped up investigations into the alleged over-invoicing of coal imports by 40 companies — both in the public and private sector — to the tune of Rs. 35,000 crore. “It is an issue that has been going on for the...