-PTI Maharashtra, TN among States seeking relief; hold talks with Finance Minister New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday initiated discussions on a farm loan waiver scheme with the Agriculture Ministry and some States in line with the BJP’s promise ahead of Uttar Pradesh elections. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Tamil Nadu Finance Minister D Jayakumar were among those who met Jaitley to discuss various issues...

-The Telegraph Guwahati: The Northeast has seen more than four-time jump in farmers' suicides from 21 in 2014 to 95 cases last year. The region also saw 105 suicides by agricultural workers last year, mostly in Assam and Tripura, revealed the report on suicides in the farming sector of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2015. Farmers' suicides have assumed serious proportions mostly in western and southern states. This rise in suicides in the...

-The Indian Express Chitale said the government should invest in infrastructure for the agriculture sector to help double production. Mumbai: Water management expert Dr Madhav Chitale believes a loan waiver is not a solution to agrarian crisis. He says such populist measures often pitched by politicians never serve the larger objective of farmer welfare. “If any government is attempting such a decision, it can be best described as ‘tatpurta malam patti’ (temporary...

-PTI NEW DELHI: Opposition today came down hard on the government for the "agrarian crisis" and demanded waiver of loans of farmers across the country and not only of those from Uttar Pradesh as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during campaigning. During a debate on Demand for Grants for the Agriculture Ministry in the Lok Sabha, members from opposition parties said over 12,000 farmers had committed suicide last year and asked...

-The Indian Express Farmer producer organisations have truly taken off. Now’s the time to create their own lobbying platform. In the summer of 2011, as the managing director of the Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), an autonomous society under the Union Agriculture Ministry, I addressed a group of Uttar Pradesh government officials in Lucknow. My hosts politely sat through my presentation and near-evangelical pitch, as I pushed the idea of promoting farmer...