-The Indian Express Behind dumping of potatoes, including outside Assembly, a bumper crop and insufficient storage space. Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh, the largest potato producing state with about 35% of the country’s total output, has had a bumper crop in 2016-17 — over 155 lakh tonnes — with the result that potatoes are rotting along roadsides and outside cold storage units. What threw the spotlight on the surplus — apparently more than the government...

-The Indian Express The MP government’s scheme paying farmers the difference between MSP and marketing prices has had a mixed impact on the ground. Dewas (Madhya Pradesh): “Baniya deta mandi mein, jo bachta hai woh sarkar deti hai” (what the trader gives in the market, the government gives the balance). That’s Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana (BBY) for Arjun Singh Sendhav. The 29-year-old five-bigha (2.9 acres) farmer from Chaubara Jagir village is a beneficiary of...

-The Hindu ‘State exploiting personal rights of individuals’ New Delhi: The Aadhaar scheme contradicts the role of the state as the custodian of the citizens’ fundamental right of privacy. A duty is cast on the government and its agencies to protect the citizen’s crucial personal data from commercial exploitation by private corporates, petitioners challenging the scheme submitted in the Supreme Court on Thursday. Referring to the nine-judge Bench judgment which upheld privacy as...

-The Hindu India must exploit the potential of this technology to help farmers meet irrigation needs In the past few years, solar pumps have consistently piqued the interest of various bureaucrats and politicians. The Prime Minister spoke about solar pumps from the rampARTs of the Red Fort in 2016. There is no shortage of ideas which the Centre, States, civil society organisations, and enterprises are adopting to enhance penetration of solar for...

-The Hindu Raises questions about violation of SC orders and insurance regulator’s norms Chennai: Despite the government extending the deadline for linking Aadhaar to various services to March 31, 2018, many insurance companies are insisting that customers pART with their Aadhaar details for accessing their services. Principal among such insurers is the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), whose newly designed web portal requires mandatory registration of policy holders’ Aadhaar details to even...