-Firstpost.com The battle for the rural heartland has commenced in full earnest.  Even though the two main opposition parties are not officially behind the strike called by farmers, their support and muscle is in full evidence. Surprisingly, the Shiv Sena – an alliance partner of the present government -- has also supported the agitation. Yesterday, milk and vegetables had to be brought into some of Maharashtra’s cities under police escort.  The shrill...

-The Economic Times blog Finance minister Arun Jaitley was correct when he stated in April that constitutional constraints do not empower his government to tax agricultural income, implying that he is not constrained from amending the Income-Tax Act. B R Ambedkar, in framing the Constitution, was vehemently critical of British land revenue system, the foundation for which was laid during the Mughal period, and strengthened by the East India Company, which...

-Livemint.com Activists who are ideologically opposed to genetically modified crop technology have unleashed a virulent campaign to stall the GM Mustard cultivation Seven-and-a-half years ago, BT Brinjal, developed by two public agricultural universities, was approved for commercial cultivation by the genetic engineering approval committee (GEAC), a statutory body. BT Brinjal is inherently resistant to the notorious fruit and shoot borer (FSB) pest and therefore produces a marketable crop without the large number...

-The Tribune Farmers are determined to take it to a logical conclusion SOMETHING unusual happened last week. Farmers in Maharashtra organised an amazing ‘strike’. Last month farmers in a village of Ahmednagar decided that they would stop sending their produce  — food grains, vegetables, etc. — to cities from June 1. Soon, the call was adopted by the farmers of the entire district. Before anyone could realise, this resolve had extended to...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Production of horticulture crops such as fruit and vegetables have seen an increase over the previous year. The production is estimated at 295 million tonnes in 2016-17 crop year ending June, shows the second advance estimates released by the agriculture ministry on Tuesday. Compared to the previous year when production was 286.18 million tonnes, the harvest is 3.1% higher. It is also 2.7% higher over the first...