-Newsclick.in There is need to build up self-reliance by nurturing the fertiliser CPSEs, rather than dismantling them through disinvestment and privatisation, read the PCPSPS statement. New Delhi: Amid concerns over global availability and growing demand for fertilisers, as well India’s dependence on urea import, the People's Commission on Public Sector and Public Services (PCPSPS) has called for a national fertiliser policy, consistent with the long-term food security strategy in India. “The national fertiliser...

-Financial Express Higher sowing augurs well for bountiful wheat and oilseed production The resilience of India’s agricultural sector has been a positive factor in the India growth story. During the ongoing rabi season, the average area sown for wheat is up by 25%, to 25.5 million hectares as of December 9, from a year earlier. Area under oilseeds, too, is at record levels. All of this augurs well for bumper rabi crops...

-Hindustan Times The total cultivated area under wheat, the main winter staple currently in short supply, jumped 25% as on November 10, compared to the corresponding period of last year, latest official data showed, boosting hopes of a bumper 2022-23 crop. Acreages of most rabi or winter-sown crops stand higher than last year, the farm ministry’s data showed. However, a warmer-than-average winter so far remains a concern for farmers because wheat needs...

-The Hindu Business Line Acreage under oilseeds, paddy and other rabi crops gains Wheat acreage in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s largest producer of winter-grown cereal, has jumped 36 per cent to 75.91 lakh hectares (lh) as of Friday from 55.82 lh a year ago. This has, in turn, resulted in the country’s overall sowing of all crops registering a 15 per cent growth in the ongoing rabi season so far. As of December...

There is some respite expected for India in terms of prices of imported commodities. This may ease the depletion of its foreign exchange reserves. The country has faced a widening of its merchandise trade deficit from US$ -17.91 billion to US$ -26.91 billion between October 2021 and October 2022. The commodity price data provided by the World Bank in December 2022 (termed as The Pink Sheet) shows that energy prices plummeted by...