-Economic and Political Weekly Agriculture cannot be revived without a different approach to water, soil, crops and research. For the second year in succession, rainfall in the monsoon season has been less than normal. As many as 302 out of the 640 districts in the country have been declared drought-hit and the impact of the drought is the severest in nine major states of south, central and east India. It is striking...
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India drinks and smokes less now -Vidya Krishnan and Rukmini S
-The Hindu However, it is among the highest consumers of smokeless forms of tobacco The preliminary findings from National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) released last week have given anti-tobacco campaigners a reason to smile. The survey has found that across the board, people — both men and women — in India are smoking less than they were a decade ago. Not just tobacco, even alcohol consumption among Indians has fallen. According to the...
More »The case for going universal -Diane Coffey & Payal Hathi
-The Hindu Maternity entitlements are an important policy tool for encouraging better maternal health. This is why we need to do away with conditionality in cash transfer schemes Since the National Food Security Act (NFSA) was passed in 2013, policy circles have been buzzing with talk of reforms in the public distribution system (PDS). Less well appreciated is the NFSA’s potential to call attention to, and help address, poor maternal nutrition — an aspect...
More »Ban pesticides in suicide-hit districts, demands activist
-The Times of India Nagpur: Chairman of state task force on farmers, Kishore Tiwari, has urged chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to ban use of chemicals in 14 suicide-prone districts of Maharashtra. Tiwari's suggestion follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to emulate Sikkim, which has become the first state to switch over to total organic farming to save environment. "To start with at least the 14 districts of Maharashtra, affected by farmers' suicide,...
More »Is new crop insurance panacea for all ills? -K Venkateshwarlu
-The Hindu Crop insurance has always been a knotty issue with the two previous ones, National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NIAS) of 1999 and the Modified NAIS of 2010 failing to address the concerns. Hyderabad: Agriculture scientists, NGOs and farmer leaders have picked holes in the recently launched Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana (PMFBY) touted as the much-awaited ‘suraksha kavach’ (shield) and panacea for all crop insurance related ills. Crop insurance has always been...
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