The Orissa government on Monday unveiled an ambitious plan to provide agricultural credit of Rs 9165 crore in this fiscal compared to Rs 5300 crore in 2009-10. In a conscious move to avoid the embarrassment of having the tag of anti-farmers, the government has also decided to continue with 2% interest subvention on the farm credit, according to minister for agriculture and cooperation, Damodar Rout. In another significant development, the...

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said that the government will enact a legislation to provide subsidised wheat and rice to poor, but to make it a success there is a need to boost production and strengthen delivery system. "We are committed to ensure Food Security Act and to make successful, we need to produce more, procure more and strengthen delivery mechanism for making accessible and affordable," Mukherjee said while addressing...

Since the advent of the Green Revolution popularised use of excessive irrigation and fertilisers in India in the 1960s, biodynamic farming, an advanced form of organic farming, had largely faded into oblivion. Biodynamic farming, a return to natural farming free from the use of Pesticides and chemicals, is readying for a revival in Punjab, the hub of the Green Revolution in the country. While organic farming is basically a holistic management...

EVEN AS BP battles to check the damage caused by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, India is showing how far it is from recovering from its own worst industrial accident. A group of government ministers appointed to suggest remedies for the disaster in 1984 at Bhopal, in central India, made its recommendations on June 21st. It urged the government to step up its efforts to extradite Warren...

Over 11,000 acres of land has been brought under organic farming in Punjab and Haryana under a scheme sponsored by the Union Government. While 6,050 acres has so far come under organic farming in Punjab, Haryana too is not lagging behind as 5,000 acre has been brought under organic farming. To promote organic farming in Punjab and Haryana, farmers are being provided technological inputs including training and farm-level advisory services according...