-The Hindu The falling Indian rupee will make oil imports costlier and lead to a rise in fuel prices Mumbai: After holding on for a day, the State-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) again increased the price of petroleum products such as petrol and diesel in the country on Thursday. The prices of petrol and diesel touched a new high on Thursday with Mumbai paying the maximum among the four metros. While petrol costs...

-The Hindu Floods often wash away rich, weathered soil. Rehabilitation programmes must consider this loss As the rains abate in Kerala and parts of Kodagu district in Karnataka, the loss of lives and the devastation of infrastructure and crops is apparent. However, as rebuilding is planned, what is often ignored is the soil that has been washed away. While roads and houses will be rebuilt, and crop losses compensated partially through insurance,...

-Firstpost.com Farmers across India are sceptical about the promised benefits of the minimum support price (MSP) promised by the government for their kharif crop. In a press release, the government announced that the MSP would be set at 50 percent over the cost of production and vowed to double farmers’ incomes by 2022. As Amrinder Singh Punia, a farmer and general secretary of the Punjab Agricultural University Kisan Club, points out, “Government...

-TheWire.in A drop in rice export rates from the top exporter, India, due to the falling rupee also weighed on demand for the Vietnamese variety. Bengaluru: Rice export prices in India fell this week as the rupee weakened, with the drop in rates from the top exporter also weighing on demand for the Vietnamese variety. Rates for India’s 5% broken parboiled rice fell by $3 per tonne to $389-$393 per tonne this week. “Rupee...

-Livemint.com The government is confident of doubling farmers’ income by 2022, says Modi New Delhi: Indian farmers are taking to new and scientific methods of cultivation by adopting organic and solar powered farming, while the government has formulated an agriculture export policy to prepare farmers for the international market, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his Independence Day speech on Wednesday. “Despite apprehensions of many, we have set a goal to double farmer...