-The Business Standard PlanCom meets this month to hasten implementation; initial focus on target coverage might cover 300 districts After reposing faith in the Aadhaar project at its cabinet meeting last week, the Narendra Modi government wants Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) to 80% of beneficiaries in five key schemes "as soon as possible". These include the cooking gas subsidy, where DBT was stalled under the previous government. The other schemes are on transfer...

-Capital Market 14 Crore Soil Health Cards to be Issued in Three Years; Credit Support of Rs. 8 Lakh Crore to Agriculture During 2014-15 Targeted "Finance to 5 lakh joint farming groups of Bhoomi Heen Kisan through NABARD in the current financial year", said Shri Radha Mohan Singh, Agriculture Minister, while inaugurating the National Rabi Conference. Minister said that, a very large number of landless farmers are unable to provide land title...

-The New Indian Express CHENNAI: Taking out a sharp attack on the anti-GM environmental activists, Professor Dr Shanthu Shantharam of the Iowa State University's Seed Science Centre said that the decision on the usage of GM crops should be left to farmers and not to environmental activists. He was speaking at a seminar on ‘GM Technology - Myth and Reality' organised by the Industrial Economist magazine on Saturday at the CLRI. "Let...

-The Indian Express The MGNREGS stands out as one of the Indian government's most ambitious social schemes, with far-reaching consequences throughout the economy. The only known recipe for poverty eradication is a combination of high growth and high development spending. Neither is sufficient. A recent study (Kapoor and Ahluwalia, 2012) has shown that post-liberalisation, one champion of poverty reduction in India is Andhra Pradesh. This reduction in poverty is widespread, as...

-The Times of India GUWAHATI: Nicky Tahbildar, a school boy from Assam, has drawn attention by making a science model aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity by providing timely water supply just by dialing a cellphone. Nicky has been selected for a state-level competition of the 'Inspire' award scheme under the department of science and Technology, from Sonitpur district recently. "Very often we see that farmers have to walk miles to reach their...