-The Indian Express The BJP, now in the opposition, has accused the Congress of “milking” the Mandsaur case for political gains. Bhopal: Two years after the death of five protesters in two incidents of police firing near Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, family members of the victims have said they are still waiting for justice. The death toll would later rise to six after one protester succumbed to injuries allegedly suffered in police custody. The...

-The Tribune Mumbai: Within days of polling for the Lok Sabha elections coming to an end in Maharashtra, the state government has quietly let a subsidy scheme for dairy farmers lapse. Under a scheme announced in July last year following protests by dairy farmers across the state, the Maharashtra Government announced a subsidy of Rs 5 per litre. Under a plan brokered by the central government, dairies would pay the farmers a...

-Outlook   Introduced to Nutrition Sensitive Integrated Farming System (NSIFS), or Poshan Kheti, by JEEViKA, Sushma Devi found that food produced in the family farm and kitchen garden was the perfect solution to feed her family sufficiently. Sushma Devi, a small farmer in Purnea, Bihar, was not able to provide diverse foods to her family of six members - comprising her husband, in-laws and children. Each of them has different dietary...

-The Indian Express Rural crisis needs nuanced interventions, not tall promises in party manifestos Farmers were sold a dream in 2014 that everything was going to change. But now they have compelling reasons to feel they were deceived. Party manifestos indicate what the politicians want us to believe. After elections, winners get either selective amnesia (Rs 15 lakh in each bank account), re-interpret promises (MSP at C2+50 per cent), continue to...

-The Hindu Business Line Eminent agriculture scientist MS Swaminathan, Chairman of the much discussed Farmers’ Commission whose report mooted an MSP at 50 per cent above cost, feels that income support can be given in the form of free inputs or higher procurement as well. While welcoming ‘PM-Kisan’, he says cash transfer should not become a form of patronage and that the focus should shift from loan write-offs to long-term policies....