-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...
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Centre asks states to scale up DBT scheme for food subsidy -Sandip Das
-The Financial Express In a bid to curb pilferage of foodgrains in the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), the Centre on Saturday asked the states to opt for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under which the subsidy component is credited to bank accounts and allows the beneficiaries to buy foodgrains from the market. However, for implementing DBT, the states must complete digitisation of beneficiary list and seed bank account details for fund transfer....
More »Cropping patterns: Game pulses, match sugarcane -Partha Sarathi Biswas
-The Indian Express Why pulses aren’t the first choice of Marathwada’s farmers despite higher prices this time. Latur: About two years ago, Guruling Modi took 10 quintals of tur (pigeon-pea), a crop he had grown for the first time on his two-acre holding, to the market yard at Latur. “I got a price of just Rs 4,200 per quintal, despite my produce being of the best quality. After expenses of Rs 35,000...
More »Farmer suicides in Marathwada cross 400 mark in 4 months; toll reaches 1,548 -Manoj Dattatrye
-The Indian Express 92 more than 2015, Govt taskforce says crisis too big, will take time to turn things around. Latur/ Pune: The farmer suicides, which have remained unstoppable for past few years in eight districts of Marathwada, have crossed the staggering 400-mark in just over four month period in 2016. Compared to 2015, as many as 92 more farmers have embraced deaths in the first four and half months of 2016, highlighting...
More »Revisit interest subsidy scheme for farmers -Ashutosh Kumar Tripathi
-The Hindu Business Line It should apply to long-term rather than short-term loans, to prevent funds misuse and promote capital formation The Budget 2016-17 witnessed an increase of Rs. 2,000 crore in the allocation towards interest subsidy for short-term credit (i.e. crop loan) to farmers, compared with the revised estimate for 2015-16, thereby making a total provision of Rs. 15,000 crore towards interest subsidy. In fact, of the total allocation of Rs. 35,984...
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