-The Indian Express Implicitly taxed through restrictive marketing and trade policies, farmers need a stable income policy. The Narendra Modi government is entering its proverbial “last 10 overs”. All the stops are being pulled to win over targeted segments of society that could potentially bring the BJP/NDA back to office. One important segment, perhaps the largest one, is that of farmers. The attempt to woo them by announcing higher minimum support prices...

-Networkideas.org As election 2019 approaches, the Modi government, damaged by agrarian distress, is also being challenged by evidence that its record on employment generation has been extremely poor. To recall, in its campaign during the 2014 election which brought it back to power, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) promised to create 10 million jobs every year. The best source of information on employment we currently have is the privately conducted (and...

-Financial Express With the 2019 Lok Sabha elections approaching, the government plans to offer a stimulus package in the form of agricultural investment support scheme and group insurance to farmers, which could otherwise subsume the fumes of the farm loan waiver burden. Can the government consider Telangana’s Rythu Bandhu Scheme (RBS) on a scaled down version? RBS has a grant component of Rs 4,000 per acre per farmer for one season (kharif/rabi)....

-The Indian Express The new daily dietary pattern of a planetary health diet consists of approximately 35 per cent of calories as whole grains and tubers but also includes approximately 14 grams of red meat per day and 500 grams per day of vegetables and fruits. Pune: Can we eat in a way that works for our planet as well as our bodies, asks the EAT-Lancet commission that has brought together...

-The Hindu Business Line In an effort to reintroduce the Bill seeking amendments in the Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development and Regulation) Act, the Maharashtra government has started discussions with stakeholders, including farmers’ leaders, traders and mathadi workers (head loaders). In the first meeting recently conducted by State Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil, farmers’ leaders and traders reached an agreement on scrapping cess on the produce brought and traded in Agriculture Produce Market Committee...