-The Times of India GURUGRAM: They had given up their land in hope that the local economy would develop and create jobs that would sustain livelihoods not only for them but the next generation. Fourteen years on, no industrial project has come up on the nearly 1,600 acres of land, a massive sprawl across the villages of Gadoli Khurd, Harsaru, Khandsa, Mohammadpur and Narsinghpur, acquired by the government, farming does not happen...

-The Hindu BJP lists ‘pro-farmer’ steps; govt. blind to problems: Digvijaya Opposition members in the Rajya Sabha sought to corner the Centre on the issue of agrarian crisis on Tuesday, accusing it of floating policies that were detrimental to farmers’ interests. However, defending the Narendra Modi government, members from the BJP and its allies hailed the “pro-farmer” initiatives taken under his leadership. Prabhat Jha, Parshottam Rupala, Ram Narain Dudi, Sanjay Raut and La....

-The Times of India About a quarter of India's labour force, some 11 crore people, work in non-farm enterprises that can broadly be described as the unorganised sector. Of these 6.3 crore enterprises, none are covered under the Companies Act or Factories Act. In fact, more than two thirds are unregistered. These are not some fly by night vendors — 82% operate from homes or permanent structures outside homes, 98% are open...

-The Hindu Strengthening the repayment capacity of farmers by improving and stabilising their income is the only way to keep them out of distress Indian agriculture is characterised by low scale and low productivity. About 85% of the operational landholdings in the country are below 5 acres and 67% farm households survive on an average landholding of one acre. More than half of the area under cultivation does not have access to...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The government today conceded there were shortcomings in the Prime Minister Crop Insurance scheme and asked states to set up their own insurance companies to prevent "malpractices" by private firms. Speaking during a five-hour debate on the agrarian crisis in the Lok Sabha late on Wednesday night, agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said: "There are shortcomings in the implementation although the modified scheme is very good. We are...