-The Times of India Sometimes it's pricey onions driving consumers to tears, at other times, potatoes or pulses. But this summer is different. A triple whammy of scorching tomato and potato prices, alongside pulses — arhar and urad — has wrecked family budgets. In the last two years, arhar prices have doubled while those of urad have increased by around 120%. Even gram (chana dal), which is produced in large quantities and...

-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...

-NDTV New Delhi: The severe drought that has gripped the countryside was no flash in the pan; when the monsoon of 2015 recorded poor rainfall, it should have set the alarm bells ringing for policymakers at least a year ago. So what exactly did the Centre do to tackle the crisis? To seek answers, NDTV filed a series of Right To Information or RTI applications in key Central ministries meant to tackle drought,...

-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...

-The Indian Express Political will and public participation will need to come together for India to become a leader in solar power on a global scale Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making major strides in energising India through solar power. During the UN conference on climate change held in Paris in 2015, PM Modi and the French President Francois Hollande launched the International Solar Alliance, to be headquartered in India. The...