Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Saturday denied that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had sought his explanations on the rising prices of onions and other agricultural commodities. In a brief chat with the media persons on the sidelines of the two-day “Coop Core – 2010,” heralding the nationwide launch of the core banking solutions (CBS) for the urban cooperative banks, which began here on Saturday, Mr. Pawar said he too had...

A sea water farming project and a genetic garden of Halophytes are being launched at Vedaranyam today The year 2010 marks the 80th anniversary of the Salt Satyagraha launched at Dandi by Mahatma Gandhi and at Vedaranyam by Rajaji to establish that sea water is a social resource. A Sea Water Farming project and a Genetic Garden of Halophytes are being launched at Vedaranyam on December 26, 2010 to initiate a...

The spectre of rising onion prices is haunting Indian politics again. As prices trebled over a period of three weeks, touching Rs.90 a kg in some parts of the country, the liliaceous plant, whose bulb is the mainstay of many Indian staple recipes, became a topic of debate and discussion not only for ordinary consumers, but for economists and policymakers as well. India is the world's second largest producer of...

The Andhra Pradesh government has begun consultations with all political parties to find a solution to the farmers’ crisis, the issue on which former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has been continuing an indefinite hunger—strike for the last one week. An all party meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy began here, to resolve the crisis that erupted after farmers lost their crops in the recent rains. Mr....

The Andhra Pradesh government has begun consultations with all political parties to find a solution to the farmers’ crisis, the issue on which former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has been continuing an indefinite hunger—strike for the last one week. An all party meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy began here, to resolve the crisis that erupted after farmers lost their crops in the recent rains. Mr....