-The Indian Express PM Modi government’s mandatory coating policy brings down sale of fertilisers, despite record farm production Here’s an apparent contradiction: The Narendra Modi government claims that India’s foodgrain output will hit a record 271.98 million tonnes (mt) in 2016-17 — up from last year’s 251.57 mt — with production of rice, wheat, maize, pulses and even oilseeds estimated at all-time highs. Yet, fertiliser sales — considered a proxy for farm sector...

-The Hindu Business line Farm output hit; water levels in reservoirs at their lowest; Kerala, Karnataka looking at cloud seeding Bengaluru/ Thiruvananthapuram: The near-normal monsoon in 2016 may have helped most parts of the country come out of two successive Droughts and perhaps propel foodgrain output to a new high, but not in the South. The drought has extended its grip in the South, with the South-West monsoon falling significantly short and the...

-The Indian Express Government must give a level playing field by removing restrictions on markets and exports Last year, roughly at this time, the price of tur dal (split pigeon pea) in the retail market was hovering around Rs 180/kg. The prices of other pulses were not far behind. They were all spiralling due to back-to-back Droughts during 2014-15 and 2015-16. Production of all pulses had plunged to 16.5 million metric tonnes...

-The Financial Express The minimum that the govt can do is to remove all restrictions on a free market for pulses Last year, roughly at this time, the price of tur dal (pigeon pea) in the retail market was hovering around R180/kg. Prices of other pulses were not far behind. They were all spiraling up due to back-to-back Droughts during 2014-15 and 2015-16. Production of all pulses had plunged to 16.5 million...

-The Economic Times PUNE / NEW DELHI: Present weather conditions indicate possibility of a normal monsoon in 2017, although there is a chance of a weak El Niño — a weather phenomenon associated with poor rains in India — emerging towards the end of the rainy season in September, the weather office has said. However, the monsoon forecast may not remain comfortable if El Niño makes an early appearance. Having briefly emerged from...