-Livemint.com To stabilize crop prices and make them remunerative, the Swaminathan Commission proposed significant improvements in the implementation of MSPs Across the country, farmers are furious—and rightfully so. Four years ago, they helped bring the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power, believing Narendra Modi’s claims that they would no longer suffer official neglect. But since then, conditions in agriculture have got worse. Earlier problems have worsened as farm incomes have been squeezed...

-Livemint.com The strategy for doubling farmer incomes will differ from state to state, and from one region to another even within a state After two consecutive years of drought, in 2014-15 and 2015-16, farmers of many crops were hit by low market prices in several states in 2016-17. In view of widespread discontent, there is a sense of urgency about addressing their issues. Therefore, the conference organized by the ministry of agriculture...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The safety and operational performance of 700 large dams across 18 states will be improved through repair and rehabilitation work over six years (2020-26) at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 7,000 crore. Some of these dams will also be developed as tourist destinations so that it can generate revenue for maintenance and create jobs for local people. The World Bank-funded project was cleared by...

-Hindustan Times Increased usage of domestic coal during winter accounts for 84 per cent of harmful emissions, says study Pollution in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, hit a dangerous level during winter when tiny particulate matter was recorded five times more than the permissible limit mainly due to the use of coal for domestic purpose, a new study has said. The study by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune...

-The Hindu The ambitious plan to help farmers earn from solar power generation hinges on small details Electricity is a major concern in rural India, especially for farmers. The Government of India has come up with an original plan to address this problem. Instead of transmitting electricity to the farmers, the government, to start with, wants farmers to use solar energy to power their irrigation pumps. According to the January 2018 report...