-The Economic Times Rural Development minister Jairam Ramesh has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh explaining the positive impact of the rural employment guarantee programme on agricultural production. The note is in response to persistent claims by Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar that the rural employment scheme has adversely affected agriculture. Stressing on the positive impact of the UPA's employment programme, Ramesh has suggested that the Prime...
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From Bengal Famine to Right to Food-MS Swaminathan
-The Hindu While there is reason to be proud of the progress in the production of wheat, rice, cereals and millets, the use of farmland for non-farm purposes is a cause for concern The year 2013 marks the 70th anniversary of the Bengal Famine which resulted in the death of an estimated 1.5 to 3 million children, women and men during 1942-43. A constellation of factors led to this mega-tragedy, such as...
More »Asia faces challenge of feeding 5b by 2030: ADB Bangladesh -Sangbad Sangstha
-New Age Asia’s ability to keep food prices in check and ensure long-term regional food security will require the region’s farm to market supply chains to become more efficient and cost-effective, says a new Asian Development Bank study. The Study titled ‘The Quiet Revolution in Staple Food Value Chains: Enter the Dragon, the Elephant and the Tiger’, was produced by ADB and the International food Policy Research Institute in response to the...
More »Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has potential to bring second green revolution: Sonia Gandhi
-PTI Congress President Sonia Gandhi today strongly pitched for utilising MNREGA to increase agricultural production, saying the flagship scheme can play a big role to usher in second green revolution in India. "I am of the belief that MNREGA has tremendous potential to increase agriculture production, which we have not been able to tap fully till date. There are many possibilities not only for creating community assets in villages but also providing...
More »Fertiliser subsidy bill balloons but government opposes any price revision
-The Economic Times A Committee of Secretaries (CoS) recommendation for a 10% increase in urea prices notwithstanding, the fertiliser ministry is in no mood to bite the bullet. The ministry has categorically said in a note that it opposes the recommendation and that there should be no price revision. The Cabinet has been deferring a price raise for the last six months due to the fertiliser ministry's opposition. The government has been...
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