-The Indian Express After petrol and diesel, the Narendra Modi government is looking next to deregulate urea. In the works is a three-year plan to decontrol the maximum retail price (MRP) of this fertiliser - currently fixed at Rs 5,360 a tonne or Rs 268 per 50-kg bag - alongside permitting duty-free imports sans any canalisation or restrictions, and credit the subsidy directly into the bank accounts of farmers. Urea imports now...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Into the abyss? -Jitendra
-Down to Earth The situation of India's farmers has only become grimmer in the past decade, according to the latest National Sample Survey Office report The lot of the embattled Indian farmer only keeps on getting worse with the passage of time. In the last 10 years, the voluminous debt of Indian agricultural households has increased almost four-fold whereas their undersized monthly income from cultivation has increased three-fold. Even the number of...
More »India’s two-speed demography -Prachi Priya & Anuj Agarwal
-The Financial Express With 66% of its population under the age of 35, India is home to the largest cohort of young people in the world-825 million. The median age of the country is just 27 years, much below 37 in the US and 46 in Japan. Numbers like these suggest that India has a competitive advantage over China and other Asian countries-a demographic dividend. But favourable demographics do not imply that...
More »Railways starts first train that chugs on CNG
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In significant step towards adopting green fuel, the railways have launched their first CNG train. Railway minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off the train, run on dual fuel system - diesel and CNG - on the Rewari-Rohtak section of northern zone. An official said introduction of CNG trains will reduce greenhouse gas emission and also cut the transporter's fuel bill by reducing Consumption of diesel. The minister, who...
More »Innovate to revamp rural agriculture -Aakriti Shrivastava
-The Pioneer Earlier, due to poor electricity supply in Jharkhand, farmers were unable to store vegetables, thereby incurring losses. Now, with the introduction of ‘desi fridges' that do not require external energy, they can get themselves a better deal, writes Aakriti Shrivastava Sanjay Singh, a smallholder farmer is market savvy. He claims to produce the best quality vegetables in his village, Madanpur, in Jharkhand. He sells his vegetables in a nearby...
More »