Air quality in North India in general and Delhi National Capital Region (Delhi NCR) in particular plunged to its lowest point in recent years during October-November thanks to a variety of factors. Through media reports one comes to know that stubble burning (also called paddy straw burning/ crop residue burning) is chiefly responsible for the public health crisis in India's capital and its nearby regions. Data accessed from the website...

-The Indian Express A change in definition is expected to improve their ease of doing business and help create more jobs. It has been reported that the government will soon change the way it defines the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). “We will have one meeting and then finalise it (changes to MSME definition),” Union Minister Nitin Gadkari told news agency PTI, adding that extensive changes will be made soon....

-The Hindu Business Line The RCEP agreement, if implemented, will allow other countries to dump excess seeds in the Indian market. The current 100% FDI policy also threatens seed sovereignty With a confirmed Brexit, the days of liberal globalisation are numbered. Open borders, FTAs and multilateral agreements find no takers in the White House either. Leaders Boris Johnson and Donald Trump have heralded a clear and blunt message of tariffs, conservative economics...

-The Hindu Zero Budget Natural Farming has no scientific validation and its inclusion into agricultural policy appears unwise Most criticisms of modern agricultural practices are criticisms of post-Liebig developments in agricultural science. It was after the pioneering work of Justus von Liebig and Friedrich Wöhler in organic chemistry in the 19th century that chemical fertilizers began to be used in agriculture. In the 20th century, the criticisms levelled against Green Revolution technologies...

-The Indian Express The Maha Agri Tech project attempts to mitigate agricultural risks by using data anlytics to plug gaps. Launched in January this year, the Maha Agri Tech project seeks to use technology to address various cultivation risks ranging from poor rains to pest attacks, accurately predict crop-wise and area-wise yield and eventually to use this data to inform policy decisions including pricing, warehousing and crop insurance. When farmers in...