-The United Nations Global food prices dip for a third consecutive month in June following a ten-month surge, the United Nations agriculture agency said today. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) price index- which MEAsures monthly changes in the global price of a basket of MEAt, dairy, cereals, oils and fats, and sugar- averaged 206.0 points in June 2014, down 3.8 points (1.8 percent) from May and nearly 6 points (2.8...
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Fighting food inflation
-The Hindu The government believes that the expectation of a poor monsoon and consequent fall in harvests has encouraged traders and middlemen to hoard food staples such as onion and potato. For a government that rode to power on the back of widespread dissatisfaction among people over runaway prices, especially of food commodities, the rising cost of onion and potato are posing a major challenge now. Though there is no reason to...
More »30% girls in Maharashtra are child brides: Study -Meenakshi Rohatgi
-The Times of India PUNE: Child marriages have decreased since the first National Family Health Survey in 1992-93 when 54% of women between 20 and 24 years were married as children to 47%, at present. However, almost 40% of the girls in India are still married before the age of 14, according to a report by Dasra in collaboration with the UNICEF and UNFPA. In Maharashtra, 30-40% of girls were married before they...
More »For a better MGNREGA -Rita Sharma
-The Indian Express The scheme should be refocused towards creating durable assets in agriculture. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has a significant influence on agricultural operations and cultivation costs. If its present focus on community works can be reoriented to proactively promote improvements on the landholdings of small and marginal farmers through the creation of durable assets, it will be beneficial for agricultural productivity and incomes. Critics say that...
More »Monsoon woes: Centre sounds drought alarm for western India
-The Financial Express Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Tuesday that western India is likely to be worst affected by a sub-normal Monsoon, with possible drought-like conditions in some areas. "Monsoon is delayed. Western India is expected to be worst affected and drought-like situation might prevail in some pockets," Singh told reporters after a BJP delegation from Maharashtra met him on the issue. According to the IMD's data of cumulative rainfall...
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