-Centre for Science and Environment New Delhi: Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released here today the first detailed independent evaluation and analysis of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) – government’s flagship national agricultural insurance programme. Across the world, agriculture insurance is recognised as an important part of the safety net for farmers to deal with the impacts of extreme and unseasonal weather due to climate change. Releasing the report...

-The Hindu Strengthening the repayment capacity of farmers by improving and stabilising their income is the only way to keep them out of distress Indian agriculture is characterised by low scale and low productivity. About 85% of the operational landholdings in the country are below 5 acres and 67% farm households survive on an average landholding of one acre. More than half of the area under cultivation does not have access to...

-Scroll.in Terms of agreement give private players 30-year lease over parts of government district hospitals. Niti Aayog and the Union ministry for health and family welfare have proposed a model contract to increase the role of private hospitals in treating non-communicable diseases in urban India. The agreement, which has been been shared with states for their comments, allows private hospitals to bid for 30-year leases over parts of district hospital buildings...

-The Hindu Business Line RBI Deputy Governor says such loans support economic activity, generate income & surplus Mumbai: Given the overexposure of the banking system to large corporates and the consequences thereof in the last few years, Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor SS Mundra said lending to priority sector is good business for all the right and justifiable reasons. “The excessive lending to corporate sector was the outcome of what I call...

-Hindustan Times The judge said present-day laws provide more stringent punishment to perpetrators of cattle-related crimes than errant drivers who take human lives. New Delhi: When a Delhi judge sentenced the son of a Haryana-based industrialist to two years’ imprisonment on Saturday for mowing down a motorcyclist with his luxury car in 2008, he couldn’t help but observe how present-day laws provide more stringent punishment to perpetrators of cattle-related crimes than errant...