-Tehelka In these times of agrarian distress, NK Bhoopesh revisits the ‘revolution’ that changed Indian agriculture The growing number of farmer suicides across the country has punched holes in the dominant narrative of India’s rise as a global economic power articulated ad nauseum by big business, mainstream politicians and the corporate media. It has also put a question mark on another familiar tale: that the green revolution introduced in the 1960s was...

-The Hindu Adilabad: Tribal farmers face same adversities which dog ryots of other regions, yet taking an extreme step is rare among them. For a brief while, Pendur Somu, the Gond Patel of Jodeghat village, seemed lost when he was asked why Adivasi farmers do not resort to suicide when in distress. A smile soon broke out on his face as he grasped the significance of such a question. “Can we repay the...

-The Indian Express A little more than a week ago, World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for launching the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), which he called an “extraordinary effort” at financial inclusion. According to the Union finance ministry, India has attained 99 per cent financial inclusion, measured as households’ access to bank accounts. Within three months of launching the PMJDY, the government entered the Guinness...

-Livemint.com The RBI norms towards targeted marginal lending for the small farmer is a structural solution to aid them—unlike bailout packages, which provide only short-term relief In its latest overhaul of priority sector lending rules, the central bank has stipulated that lenders should funnel at least 8% of their credit to small and marginal farmers. While the overall agriculture loan growth has galloped over the past decade, the chart shows why...

-Livemint.com How farmers in chronically drought-prone Bundelkhand made the rational choices to improve their lot and yet ended up in a debt trap Banda/New Delhi: “I have made up my mind. I cannot repay my loans. I cannot free my land. I will die,” Ram Bahadur Singh said, with a casual chuckle. The neighbours seated around did not react; after all, this was not the first time that the 52-year-old from...