-The Indian Express Agriculture needs a champion in the Union cabinet. July, this year, marks the silver jubilee of economic reforms. It is time to take stock of our major successes and failures. There is a saying that bad times are often good for policies and good times are bad for policies. It is well-known that the foreign exchange crisis, with reserves falling to as low as $1.5 billion, triggered fundamental changes...

-The Hindu Business Line The National e-Governance Plan can ensure that higher devolution of funds translates into improved outcomes Cutting edge technology is, no doubt, empowering. The right application of technology can boost productivity in all sectors of the economy: agriculture, manufacturing, services, business and governmental activities. Technology enables informed decision-making, stakeholder participation and efficient service delivery and can help ensure transparency, accountability, and rule of law leading to inclusive good governance....

-The Times of India Raipur: Chhattisgarh faces danger of drought, as the state received 59% deficit rain in June. Moreover, monsoon appears to be feeble in the coming months because low pressure over Bay of Bengal is moving only towards Bastar. These are the findings of a weather analysis report prepared by IIT-Bhubaneswar and NASA, said professor ASRAS Sastri, prominent researcher of agro-meteorology in Chhattisgarh. The report also warned that not only...

-The Hindu Agriculture Department getting more and more enquiries Tiruchirapalli (TIRUCHI): There have been days when Mohan Kumaramangalam (51), a marginal farmer in Kalaththil Ventrar Pettai in Lalgudi taluk, seriously considered giving up Farming because of acute shortage of workers. But he has had a change of mind after he acquired a paddy transplanter which helped him overcome shortage of workers. Although he had acquired the motorised but hand-held imported transplanter for his...

-The New Indian Express If a government survey report is to be believed, an agricultural household harvests a debt of Rs 3,000 every month, forget about making money to sustain itself. The agricultural household 70th round survey of National Sample Survey Office conducted during July 2012 and June 2013 has revealed that the total income of an agricultural household per month was just Rs 6,426. On the other hand, the total...