-The Indian Express Every crisis produces its fall guy. This time, it is sugarcane that’s bearing the brunt of the blame for drought, especially in Maharashtra’s worst-affected Marathwada region. Sugarcane, no doubt, requires 2,100-2,200 mm of water, more than the 1,400 mm or so for paddy, 900 mm for cotton, 600 mm for jowar (sorghum) and arhar (pigeon-pea), 550 mm for wheat, and under 500 mm for soyabean and chana (chickpea). But then,...
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Rebooting India’s agricultural policy -Himanshu
-Livemint.com The efforts of the government in revamping the crop insurance and land titling schemes are long-term solutions which will take time to bear results The agricultural sector is facing its worst moment in the last three decades. The last time India saw such distress caused by back-to-back deficient rains was during the drought of 1986-87 and 1987-88. The severity of the situation is evident from the stories of migration and...
More »Forty coal importers under the DRI scanner for over-invoicing
-The Hindu Business Line Firms of Adani, Anil Ambani, Essar, JSW Groups and some PSUs being probed NEW DELHI: The Finance Ministry and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) are said to have stepped up investigations into the alleged over-invoicing of coal imports by 40 companies — both in the public and private sector — to the tune of Rs. 35,000 crore. “It is an issue that has been going on for the...
More »Global food prices edge up in March; cereal production outlook robust – UN
-United Nations World cereal production in 2016 is set to reach 2,521 million tonnes, just 0.2 per cent below last year’s and the third-highest on record, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today. Large inventory levels and relatively sluggish global demand mean that market conditions for staple food grains appear stable for at least another season, the agency's latest Cereal Supply and Demand Brief predicts. According to the FAO Food...
More »Indian agriculture yet to catch up with neighbours on public spending, indicates IFPRI report
Amidst the prevailing gloominess over agrarian crisis, a recently released report says that the growth rate of agricultural output in both India and China were the same during 2008-2013. The agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) of both these countries on an average grew at 3.3 percent per annum during that period. The latest available data from the 2016 Global Food Policy Report, however, indicates that the neighbouring countries of Sri Lanka...
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