-The Indian Express The govt believes the shortfall of cotton coupled with greater overall demand in the market will ensure higher returns to the farmers Mumbai: Cotton production in Maharashtra is likely to fall by 10 to 15 per cent this year, the agriculture ministry has said. Farmers postponed the sowing of cotton because of a delayed monsoon, which can lead to a drop in output. The cotton-growing farmers in Marathwada and...

-The Hindu The Centre had carried out an exercise to eliminate duplicate, fake, ghost, and inactive accounts New Delhi: The Petroleum Ministry has issued a rebuttal claiming its calculations were correct on the savings on account of direct benefit transfer in LPG cylinders tabled in Parliament. A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General had questioned the method arrived at on the savings, more than 10 days ago. The report, tabled on August 12,...

-The Indian Express Farm incomes may not revive despite good monsoon. There are new challenges for policymakers. India’s per capita calorie demand has been falling for at least the last 30 years. Most people do a double-take when they hear that. One can’t debate the fact much: National Sample Surveys every five to seven years have documented this. What we can debate are the reasons behind this: In their 2009 paper Angus...

-Business Standard Pulses acreage this year is highest in last 5 years New Delhi: Sowing of pulses has seen a jump of 35 per cent to 13.6 million hectares so far, in the ongoing kharif season on good rains and higher market price. The pulses acreage this year is not only the highest in the last five years, but also among the best in recent times.  If weather remains good, pulses production this...

Rising prices of dal: How to deal with it? The 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses. In India, however, ordinary citizens are under enormous duress due to the skyrocketing prices of dal/ lentils since the last one year. The website of Price Monitoring Cell of the Department of Consumer Affairs shows that dal prices varied across places. For example, the...