-The Times of India New Delhi: In a sign of the strength of India's public research institutions, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) released seven new varieties of field crops including wheat, Rice, chickpea, pigeon pea and mustard and identified 11 varieties of high-yielding agricultural and horticultural produce during 2015. All these varieties are not just resilient to several biotic (living organism like pests and insects) and abiotic (nonliving factors like light, temperature...

-The Indian Express We have turned our back to the intense food and drinking water distress across states India has transformed spectacularly in innumerable ways in the last two decades. One of the least noted changes is in the way the country — governments, the press and people — respond to drought and food scarcities. Back in the late-1980s, many states across India were reeling under back-to-back droughts for three consecutive years, not...

-Down to Earth International pRices of basmati have been declining over the last two years With pRices of grains and cereals plummeting worldwide, basmati Rice exporters have urged the Union commerce ministry to include packaged basmati Rice in the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS). MEIS allows exporters of certain goods access to “Free on Board (FOB)” value, which means the shipping charges are borne by the importer instead of the exporter....

-The Telegraph Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik's flagship programme of Rice distribution at Re 1 per kg might run into rough weather if the Centre continues to send more wheat instead of Rice as required by the state under the National Food Security Act. Concerned at the development, the chief minister has shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to allocate more Rice under the act instead of...

-TheHansIndia.com Agriculture is intertwined with soil, plant and human beings. In shaping the research, how much attention was paid to these three components? There is a need to reassess or evaluate the institute, whether it has retained the virtues of the pioneers who started it Improvements in farming could be traced in certain regions of the world, where agriculture has become prime occupation of life. Hence, the struggle and labours of few...