-The Times of India NEW DELHI: After the success with opening bank accounts and two insurance schemes, the government is lining up a major push for retirement savings under its financial inclusion programme. The finance ministry has begun talks to rope in 1.5 lakh post offices along with kirana shops and chemists to sell pension plans with an assurance of minimum returns. Sources told TOI that the department of posts, which is...

-The Hindu Telengana: Empowered by disciplined thrift activity for close to two decades now, a group of enterprising women members of the Self Help Groups (SHGs) are charting a new course by entering male dominated domain of marketing agriculture produce directly to the processors. The effort has paid off with the farmers in at least 10 mandals of Nizamabad and Adilabad district benefiting a lot. Thanks to the encouragement by Gram Abhyudaya...

-Economic and Political Weekly Despite favourable policy measures, growth of financial institutions and public interventions in the marketing of agricultural produce, the structure of Punjab's agricultural economy makes farmers dependent on Commission Agents. These agents trap the farmers in a vicious circle of indebtedness. Based on a field survey, this study locates the Commission Agent system in Punjab's agriculture set-up and recommends reframing it in order to extricate farmers from the...

-The Indian Express Farmers are unanimous that Punjab hasn’t seen such bad days, with one or the other crop failing in consecutive seasons — and now basmati selling even below parmal. Jalandhar: When farmers in Punjab began taking the harvested grain from their Pusa-1509 superfine basmati paddy crop early this month, they were shocked to see it fetch rates below not just half of last year’s levels, but even the official minimum...

-The Hindu Cheap imported bags are sold as Indian to government agencies for a higher procurement price. The Union Textiles Ministry has unearthed a major racket in large-scale import of cheap jute bags from Nepal and Bangladesh by Indian manufacturers, many of whom were supplying these to government agencies after putting their own seals. The Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory Use in Packing Commodities) Act, 1987, mandates that jute bags supplied to government agencies...