-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Crop planting this kharif season has so far covered 4.16% more area than a year ago while water levels in the country's 91 major reservoirs are on an average 17.09% higher, show official data. From the beginning of the kharif season in June till September 2, crop planting has covered 1,054.49 lakh hectares, close to the kharif season target of 1,062.50 lakh hectares, according to data...

-The Indian Express Govt must learn from mistakes in onions and potatoes, agriculture should be spared of bearing the burden of its inflation targeting. Last week, Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a 5% subsidy on onion exports in the form of transferable duty credit scrips that can be used to pay customs, excise or service tax. On top of it, the Maharashtra government extended a Rs 100 per quintal grant to...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Prices of all major pulses have crashed, and Arhar, in particular, is now selling in the range of Rs 120 and Rs 136 a kg in the four metro cities. Arhar is retailing at Rs 102 per kg even in Patna from where Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had launched an attack on the Centre's failure to check prices with his slogan "Arhar Modi" just...

Rising prices of dal: How to deal with it? The 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses. In India, however, ordinary citizens are under enormous duress due to the skyrocketing prices of dal/ lentils since the last one year. The website of Price Monitoring Cell of the Department of Consumer Affairs shows that dal prices varied across places. For example, the...

-The Indian Express A Pulses Revolution is possible even in the most backward districts, as a PPP project in Bundelkhand has shown. Damoh (Madhya Pradesh): Zahim Khan has two major worries, as he surveys the urad (black gram) crop on 14 out of the 20-acres land being jointly cultivated by him with 13 other farmers. The immediate concern is rains. Damoh district in Madhya Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region, of which his village Somkheda is...