-The Hindu Small farmers are getting only 30-40% of loans meant for the sector, says RBI report New Delhi: The small and marginal farmers are missing out on the bulk of agricultural credit, as per information provided by the Reserve Bank of India, which showed they are receiving only 30-40% of loans meant for the sector. As per a report submitted by the RBI to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture in response...

-Livemint.com In the last three years, wages of agricultural labourers have increased only by 0.5% per year while those of non-agricultural workers have declined by 0.25% per year, the worst so far in 30 years The agrarian economy continues to be plagued by falling output prices, declining incomes and increased variation in agricultural production pointing to a situation of uncertainty and vulnerability among most rural residents. This has created an unprecedented demand...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: In a glaring case of apathy, ailing self-trained farm innovator Dadaji Khobragade (80), who revolutionized paddy farming by developing the high yielding variety of rice called HMT, is struggling to meet his medical expenses. His family has been forced to make a public appeal for donations for just Rs 2 lakh to pay for his hospitalisation. Khobragade, who hails from Nanded village in Nagbid tehsil of eastern...

-TheWire.in According to activists, the "much awaited Supreme Court judgement in the Swaraj Abhiyan PIL has let down millions of NREGA workers". New Delhi: Activists have expressed disappointment over a recent Supreme Court judgment on the timely payment of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The judgment, delivered on May 18, was delivered in response to a petition filed by NGO Swaraj Abhiyan. According to activists who are...

-The Telegraph Washington: The Supreme Court of America on Monday agreed to consider reviving a lawsuit by Indian villagers seeking to hold a Washington-based international financial institution responsible for widespread environmental damage they blame on a power plant it financed. The justices will hear an appeal by the villagers of a lower court ruling that the International Finance Corp (IFC) was immune from such lawsuits under federal law. IFC, part of the World...