-The Indian Express Between 2013-14 and 2016-17, India’s exports of agricultural commodities have dipped from $43.2 billion to $33.8 billion, even as imports have climbed from $15.5 billion to $25.6 billion Falling exports and rising imports — this has been the story of the country’s agricultural trade over the last three years, notwithstanding the Narendra Modi government’s ambitious Make in India initiative. Between 2013-14 and 2016-17, India’s exports of agricultural commodities have dipped...

-IndiaSpend/ Business Standard In Uttar Pradesh, Nagaland, Jharkhand and Bihar, fewer than 50% of rural households have electricity As many as 73% of the 18,452 villages that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government identified for electrification in 2015 now have Power Supply, but only 8% of these villages had all their households electrified, according to the government’s own data. As of May 25, 2017, 13,523 villages have been electrified, but 100% household connectivity...

-The Hindu All houses in the State, however remote they may be, will have power connection thanks to the State government’s total electrification project THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (Kerala): Narayanan Kani flicked on the single switch hanging by the side of a pole, which holds up his hut. A point of white light, slightly bigger than the tip of a ball-point pen, came alive. This is the only electricity that he and his wife Maathi...

-Livemint.com Last year’s abundant rains in drought-prone Marathwada region, of which Latur is a part, have helped farmers produce record amount of pulses Mumbai: Latur is back on its feet and its pulse mills are running again, a year after an acute drought. The dry bed of the Manjra river, the water train from Sangli and the once ubiquitous water tankers have become things of the past. Last year’s abundant rains in Marathwada—a...

-The Hindu State government preparing its response to the model groundwater bill circulated by Central government The State government does not favour the idea of pricing groundwater for agriculture. The government, which is fine-tuning its response to the model groundwater bill circulated by the Central government, feels that the text of the model bill provides scope for the idea, which, if translated into action, will only attract controversies, says a senior official. Though...