-Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Agriculture) As per Census conducted by Registrar General of India, the total number of agricultural workers in the country comprising cultivators and agricultural labourers increased from 234.1 million (127.3 million cultivators and 106.8 million agricultural labourers) in 2001 to 263.0 million (118.7 million cultivators and 144.3 million agricultural labourers) in 2011. As per Agriculture Census 2010-11, about 85% of the operational holdings accounting for about 44% of...

-The Financial Express Unless we get it right on the markets front, including opening up of exports, farmers cannot get their full due One of the key objectives of agricultural price policy in India is to ensure that agriculture remains a remunerative occupation so that farmers are incentivised to adopt modern technologies that help raise productivity and overall production of various crops in the country broadly in line with the emerging demand...

-The Financial Express Price-policy initiatives and technological innovations show promise, given the record output of pulses in 2013 Rising incomes and urbanisation, unfolding globalisation and changing tastes are leading to diversified consumption baskets. There is greater uptake of dairy products, meat, vegetables and fruits among Indian consumers while the converse is true for cereals and pulses. Amidst these, protein consumption has taken a hit while fat intake has been rising. A recent...

-Live Mint At 287 million, India has 37% of the total population of illiterate adults across the world, according a Unesco report New Delhi: The world will miss its goal of universal education by 2015, with millions of children and adults still to be schooled, said a United Nations (UN) body. India has the highest population of illiterate adults, 287 million, 37% of the total population of such people across the world,...

-Grain.org "We take care of the cow and the cow takes care of us," says Marayal, a farmer in Thalavady, Tamil Nadu. Her two cows produce 6 to 10 litres of milk a day, which she sells for 30-40 cents per litre. Across India, there are millions of backyard dairy farmers like Marayal. Each owning just one or two cows, these farmers supply millions more families and hundreds of thousands of informal...