-Business Standard Official panel points to bid deficiencies in rural job guarantee, pensions, housing and other programmes Wage payment delays are a distressing feature of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), an official panel says. This has to be adequately addressed, by  the Centre and states, to keep the programme’s spirit alive, it has said. It and some other findings of concern are the result of a multi-state Common Review...

-Livemint.com Nominal hikes in crop support prices means that farmers are bearing the burden of government policy to keep food inflation in check New Delhi: The Narendra Modi led government has set a target to double farm incomes by 2022, but in the past three years it announced only nominal hikes for support prices of rice and wheat. What’s more: the raises were lower than the prevailing retail inflation, meaning declining...

-The Hindu Business Line Citing Swaminathan panel formula, farmers ‘reject’ MSP Hyderabad: Farmers associations and agri-economists are angry over the “meagre” hike in the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy, pulses and other crops.     The government on Wednesday announced a hike in the MSP of Rs. 60 a quintal for paddy and Rs. 425 for pulses, far below the farmers’ expectations. Swaminathan panel formula The hike in the MSP falls well short of the...

-The Hindu States asked to exempt pulses from Value Added Tax and other local levies to control prices The government is considering banning futures trading in chana dal (brown chickpeas) and reducing import duty on sugar as part of its efforts to rein in inflation, according to a top official. Higher food prices, led by pulses and sugar, pushed wholesale price inflation into positive territory in April after 17 months of decline while...

-Hindustan Times India’s below-average and a largely flat food production this year is sure to keep prices of pulses high, prompting the government to take a slew of steps aimed at taming prices. Yet there is widening demand-supply deficit of one of the commonest protein item on an average Indian’s plate. * What happened? Lentils, the commonest protein item in an average Indian’s meal, are low on supplies. * What does it mean? Pulses could...