-The Telegraph New Delhi: The government today conceded there were shortcomings in the PRIme Minister Crop Insurance scheme and asked states to set up their own insurance companies to prevent "malpractices" by PRIvate firms. Speaking during a five-hour debate on the agrarian crisis in the Lok Sabha late on Wednesday night, agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said: "There are shortcomings in the implementation although the modified scheme is very good. We are...

-The Financial Express The domestic PRIces of key agricultural commodities were below the export-parity PRIces during most of the time in the decade 2004-2014, according to a new study by Icrier and World Bank. However, the export/import opportunities were not always used as restrictive trade policies played spoilsport; for instance in the 2007-08 global food crisis, though rising global PRIces made many Indian products export-competitive, rice and wheat exporters among others were...

-The Tribune Over 150 farmers’ bodies have come together on a common agenda IS the farmers’ movement in India entering a new phase? Six weeks is too short a window to answer this question with certainty. But the nature of farmers’ protest across the country since the beginning of farmers’ strike in Punjab shows signs of something new. This impression is confirmed in a two-week journey connecting farmers, organisations and movements across six...

-Livemint.com Farmers who opt for drip irrigation will be given loans at 2% rate of interest with a cap of Rs. 85,400 per hectare Mumbai: In a significant move, the Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra on Tuesday decided to make drip irrigation mandatory for sugar cane cultivation over 3.05 lakh hectares in the state. Farmers who opt for drip irrigation will be given loans at 2% rate of interest with a cap...

-Scroll.in Terms of agreement give PRIvate players 30-year lease over parts of government district hospitals. Niti Aayog and the Union ministry for health and family welfare have proposed a model contract to increase the role of PRIvate hospitals in treating non-communicable diseases in urban India. The agreement, which has been been shared with states for their comments, allows PRIvate hospitals to bid for 30-year leases over parts of district hospital buildings...