-Livemint.com The RBI norms towards targeted marginal lending for the small farmer is a structural solution to aid them—unlike bailout packages, which provide only short-term relief In its latest overhaul of priority sector lending rules, the central bank has stipulated that lenders should funnel at least 8% of their credit to small and marginal farmers. While the overall agriculture loan growth has galloped over the past decade, the chart shows why...

-The Hindu Everything else can wait but agriculture cannot, said Jawaharlal Nehru. This should have been the talisman for India’s progress. Yet, successive governments have failed to accord agriculture the priority it deserves. The tragic suicide of a farmer during an Aam Aadmi Party rally in New Delhi has brought to the fore the agrarian crisis facing India. Official records reveal that more than 2.96 lakh farmers have ended their lives...

-The Hindu Given the high investment and negative incentives such as input subsidies, small farmers have not benefited from government schemes. Everything about the suicide of the farmer from Dausa, Gajendra Singh, save the tragedy for his family, has been theatre — the very public venue, the occasion of a political rally, the politicians happily playing their populist cards, and the media’s focus on trivialities. The tragedy is being skilfully milked for...

-The Hindu Agriculture a State subject, Central help supplementary: Minister The Maharashtra government has reported 257 suicides by farmers in the State between January and March this year resulting from the agrarian crisis. “The government of Maharashtra has reported that 257 farmers have committed suicide in the State due to agrarian reasons during the period January to March 2015,” Minister of State for Agriculture Mohanbhai Kundaria said in a written reply to a...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Raising the spectre of a second successive year of deficient rains, the India Meteorological Department has predicted below normal rainfall for the upcoming monsoon season with a 33% probability of rains being less than 90%, commonly referred to as a drought. "The monsoon seasonal rainfall is likely to be 93% of the long-period average with a model error of plus or minus 5%," said Union earth...