-The New Indian Express BHUBANESWAR: Eminent agricultural economist Ashok Gulati on Monday emphasised on higher growth in agriculture sector for faster reduction of poverty. Addressing the second Odisha Knowledge Hub (OKH) lecture series on ‘Getting agriculture back on track in the growth agenda of the Nation and State’ at the Secretariat here, Gulati said the agriculture sector has the potential to grow at five per cent per annum as against the present...

-The Financial Express It is expected that the measures announced in the Budget will boost agricultural output and rural incomes It appears that Budget FY17 has not generated enough excitement in media, academics and the masses, including farmers. Currently, farm distress is a serious concern in the country. The livelihood security of the rural population is in peril. Farmers are in dire need of substantial help to come out of the crisis-like...

-Economic and Political Weekly The Modi government tries hard to signal a makeover but beyond the symbolic it does not change much. Budget 2016 is not important for the proposals that it has made but for what it tries to signal about the proposed makeover, in a limited way, of the Narendra Modi government. The budget does try hard to claim that the Modi government is not a “suit-boot” administration, an image...

-DNA Reintroduction of oil seed and pulses which require less water is must, govt told Mumbai: To curb the growing number of suicides, Maharashtra government should ask farmers of 14 suicide-prone districts to adopt the Sikkim-pattern non-chemical farming. This suggestion has come from the committee which was appointed by the government to look into the vexed issue. The report filed by the committee said that the rain-sensitive cash crop in these 14 crisis...

-Report by Delhi Solidarity Group The Government of India presented its annual budget with much fanfare, claiming it to be propoor and pro-rural, but the question looms whether it will really change the lives of the marginalized sections of the society. For a country like India that claims to be ‘democratic, socialist, sovereign, republic’ working towards the ‘welfare’ of its citizens it might be assumed that the key areas on priority...