-The Indian Express The Central government’s move to fix cotton seed prices and trait fees sends wrong signals. 2015 will go down as a year that has seen all the rules of free trade being given the go-by when it comes to agriculture. The lead for it, significantly, has come from the Centre, whether in the form of not allowing exports of onion at below $ 700 a tonne or imposing stockholding...
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Liberalised land leasing through government Land Bank can ease exit of distressed farmers -Kanchan Srivastava
-DNA The report said it will ease the exit of those farmers who find farming unattractive or non-viable and economically strengthen those farmers who want to stay and raise the scale of operational holdings. Opening farmland for 'liberalised leasing' through government-run 'Land Banks' can be a 'win-win reform' in the Indian farm sector, stated the latest report of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog taskforce on agricultural development. The report...
More »Cess proceeds in a black hole
-The Hindu The National Democratic Alliance government has just introduced a cess of 0.5 per cent on all taxable services for the Swachh Bharat campaign. In February 2016, it will introduce a 2 per cent cess on airfares for all domestic flyers except those flying to remote locations, and international travellers. This cess is meant to fund losses that airlines may incur in connecting to hinterland locations. The Central government loves...
More »Pulses may remain beyond reach for many in 2016 too -Jayashree Bhosale
-The Economic Times PUNE/NEW DELHI: Pulses will likely remain beyond the reach for many in 2016 as well. Even though a fresh kharif crop has started arriving in the market, whole beans of tur (pigeon pea) cost twice as much as last year because the output is expected to be smaller. Government agencies that entered the market to create a buffer stock for next year are finding it tough to buy tur because...
More »How to check the pulse of rising food prices -Sanjoy Narayan
-Hindustan Times Nearly half of what the average Indian earns she spends on food. And when food prices rise, the average Indian’s budget feels the strain. In November, the consumer food price index, which tracks food prices at retail sales points, was up 6.07% as compared to 5.25% in October. Even data relating to the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), which tracks prices of commodities when they are traded in bulk, show...
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