-Business Standard As economic growth came in at 7.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015-16, many argue that much of it could be attributed to discrepancies. Chief Statistician of India T C A Anant dispels these notions. He tells Dilasha Seth and Indivjal Dhasmana that the principal method of calculating the gross domestic product (GDP) is by taking into account the production-side estimates and not an expenditure one. Edited...

Situation alarming: More than one-third population hit by drought   The country is facing severe drought for the second consecutive year. Conservative estimates from official sources show that over a quarter of rural habitations are facing drinking water scarcity. Although both India Meteorological Department and Skymet have predicted a more than normal rainfall during June-September, 2016, the water storage available in 91 major reservoirs of the country has declined from 22 percent...

-Business Standard The first two years of the Narendra Modi government were marked by big announcements that will take their time to materialise. The one sector that is unfazed by slogans is agriculture. The sector is crippled by back-to-back droughts coupled with a record fall in farm prices. A slump in global markets meant that agriculture Exports, which could provide farmers alternative revenue, dried up. Agriculture and processed food Exports from India...

-TheWire.com The government wants to double farmer incomes by 2022, a feat that it cannot achieve without seriously tackling the current slump that has a direct impact on the sale of farming products. As part of its recent budget, the central government announced its aim to double farmers’ incomes by 2022. To this end, the state of agricultural Exports is an important factor which needs attention, as it creates an additional demand...

-IANS Guwahati: Rice is generally white in colour, or is it? Black is the colour for over 200 farmers in Assam’s Goalpara district - and they are laughing all the way to the bank. Started by a single farmer in the district about four years ago, the cultivation of black rice has caught the fancy of more and more farmers who are turning to it instead of the traditional white rice. Young farmer...