-Hindustan Times/ Livemint.com “There is an immediate need to improve agricultural infrastructure so that we produce more, while also conserving and processing agricultural output efficiently,” Nirmala SITharaman said in her budget speech. The government on Monday introduced a new agriculture infrastructure development cess (AIDC) on petrol, diesel and several other imported items. Finance minister Nirmala SITharaman assured it won’t place any additional burden on consumers. However, following the introduction of the cess, states...

-Deccan Herald Many of us have grown hearing the story of how Dronacharya is slain in the Mahabharata by a half-truth Many of us have grown hearing the story of how Dronacharya is slain in the Mahabharata by a half-truth. On Krishna’s advice, Bhima kills an elephant that bears the same name as Ashwattama, Drona’s son, and Yudhishtira announces that Ashwattama, Drona’s son, and Yudhishtira announces that Ashwattama, the elephant, is dead,...

-NDTV blog Nirmala SITharaman said: "We have spent, we have spent and we have spent." She had every reason to claim that, since the budget numbers show that the centre spent ₹ 4.1 lakh crore, or 13 percent above what it had planned for last year. Additional spending will continue this year: expenditure is estimated to go up by 14.5 percent in 2021-2022 compared to last year, even though the government's...

-The Hindu Farmer advocates not impressed by on-ground impact of budget announcements The Union Budget sent mixed signals to the tens of thousands of farmers who have been protesting on Delhi’s borders for the last two months, and the wider agricultural community. On the one hand, the budget allocation for the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare was slashed 8.5% in 2021-22. The flagship PM-KISAN scheme, meant to provide income support to...

-The Hindu It is the supreme authority of Parliament which has the power to solve the issue despite the negotiations outside The deadlock between protesting farmers and the government on the contentious farm laws have taken an ugly turn, with incidents of vandalism during the tractor parade by the protesting farmers on January 26. It is as yet unclear as to how the peaceful protest for the last two months was allowed...