-The Hindu We need to revisit the credit policy with a focus on the outreach of banks and financial inclusion Since Independence, one of the primary objectives of India’s agricultural policy has been to improve farmers’ access to institutional credit and reduce their dependence on informal credit. As informal sources of credit are mostly usurious, the government has improved the flow of adequate credit through the nationalisation of commercial banks, and the...

-The Indian Express Delhi air pollution: The current smog and poor air quality in the National Capital Region has been blamed in part on stubble burning by farmers, especially in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana. What is the genesis of the problem? What are its potential solutions? * How widespread is crop stubble burning? It is mainly confined to Punjab, Haryana and parts of western Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where farmers grow paddy and...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday banned the use of petroleum coke and furnace oil in the National Capital Region, Haryana and Rajasthan by 34 industrial groups in its efforts to bring down pollution levels that have spiked in the industrial hubs of these areas post-Diwali. These fuels, which emanate highly toxic gases, are banned in Delhi since 1996. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) lauded the directive as...

-The Financial Express Pune: Even as the government of Maharashtra is sending its top officials to the national capital to follow up on its proposal to the Centre for the procurement of moong and urad under the government’s Minimum Support Price ( MSP) scheme, farmers have begun distress sales. Maharashtra cooperation minister Subhash Deshmukh said the Centre’s permission is expected over the next two to three days, failing which the state...

-PTI   NEW DELHI: An additional investment of Rs 6,399 billion is required from both public and private sectors to enable doubling of farmers' real income by 2022-23, a government committee said in its latest report. At present, public investment is below national average in states like Assam, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Punjab and Odisha. Less developed states in the eastern region continue to lag behind in...