-Scroll.in The food safety authority looked away as the environment ministry kept clearing consignments of genetically modified soyabean and canola oils from abroad. Violating laws governing food safety in India, the central government has over the last five years allowed more than 15 million tonnes of genetically modified soyabean and canola oils to be imported into the country for human consumption. That such imports were illegal came to light with the Food...

-The Hindu It is crucial to align policy across sectors and upgrade the country’s social infrastructure In India’s highly segmented labour market, one can still discern at least three demographic groups that are in urgent need of jobs: a growing number of better educated youth; uneducated agricultural workers who wish to leave agricultural distress behind; and young women, who too are better educated than ever before. India is indeed the fastest growing large economy...

-DNA India India is frittering away gains of the Green Revolution and fast turning into a net food importer In 2015-16, India imported Rs 1,402,680,000,000 or 1.40 lakh crore worth of agricultural commodities. This was more than three times the annual budgetary allocation for domestic agriculture. Well, if you think the increasing reliance on Food Imports in one year — 2015-16 — is merely an aberration, hold your breath. According to commodity...

-The Hindu Business Line The prices of common rice varieties in West Bengal have increased by 10-20 per cent at the miller’s end in recent weeks. Bangladesh has imported 600,000 tonnes in the last five weeks Kolkata: Panic over potential foodgrain shortfall and opportunistic trading in Bangladesh have sent the price of rice soaring on both sides of the border. Over the last three weeks, the price of common rice varieties in West...

-Hindustan Times Of the affected states are also those announced farm loan waivers just months ago to bail out beleaguered farming community. With the southwest monsoon season about to end in less than three weeks’ time, the government’s drought warning system predicts there could be a drought in 225 districts across “17 agriculturally important states of India,” putting further strain on distressed agriculture sector. According to the government’s National Agriculture and Drought...