-Hindustan Times Revolution imminent… genetically modified seeds produced by MNCs cause farmer suicides. Incendiary, out-of-context sound-bites juxtaposed between heartrending visuals distort rural poverty from a complex issue that each Indian must help resolve to a simplistic, accusatory Peepli Live feature. Instead of quixotic and strident anti-growth agendas offered as panacea, a coordinated and consistent approach to poverty reduction is needed. Poverty reduction needs development. The linkage between economic growth and poverty reduction is...

-The Hindu Business Line Agriculture Ministry reviews soil health card scheme New Delhi: Central teams will be sent to Uttar Pradesh and Odisha to assess drought situation, the Agriculture Ministry said on Tuesday. The Ministry said it had received representations from the two States and teams were being dispatched immediately. Karnataka was recently sanctioned ₹1,540 crore. For Chhattisgarh, the Ministry has recommended ₹1,387 crore. At present, Central teams are visiting Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, a...

-Hindustan Times Commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the WTO will have to give a permanent solution to India’s food security issue. HT explains. * What has WTO got to do with food security? The World Trade Organisation was established in 1995 to facilitate trade among members, who now number at 161. The WTO facilitates trade through rounds of negotiations — there have been nine rounds till now, the latest being the...

-The Hindu Business Line A creeping crisis in soyabean in Madhya Pradesh has given rise to this contradiction. Different policies are called for The Indian policymaker seems to suffer from the musk deer syndrome. The musk deer is a rare species that produces musk in its own body. But it does not realise this and searches endlessly for the source of the aroma. India faces a similar dilemma. On the one hand, the...

-The Indian Express Farmers tend to lose out irrespective of whether crop prices go up or down. Government needs to rectify this. The price of tur/ arhar dal had recently skyrocketed to Rs 200 per kg and the consumer as well as the government were at their wits’ end. Not very long ago, high onion prices were making everyone shed copious tears. In both the cases, there was profit maximisation by...