-Scroll.in Halfway through the ambitious Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana, farmers are protesting and accusing traders of suppressing prices. When the Madhya Pradesh government introduced the Bhuvantar Bhugtan Yojana in August it hoped the new scheme would assuage angry farmers and provide them a cushion against a possible price crash of farm produce. But in the first harvest season after the scheme was introduced farmers continue to get prices below their expectations. Many farmers...

-Down to Earth At the upcoming WTO meet, India has to negotiate a better deal to ease restrictions on giving food subsidies When the World Trade Organization (WTO) meets in Buenos Aires in Argentina next month, India would be arguing for something of immense importance for the country’s agrarian economy. At the Eleventh Session of the Ministerial Conference of WTO from December 10 to 13, India will try to prevent restrictions on...

-Livemint.com BJP-led central government has raised import duties on a range of edible oils, ahead of the crucial Gujarat assembly elections New Delhi: Ahead of the crucial Gujarat assembly elections, the centre last week raised import duties on a range of edible oils, in a bid to support growers who are bearing losses due to plunging domestic prices. On 17 November, India, the largest importer of edible oils globally, raised import duties on...

-The Hindu Business Line Public procurement at a negotiated price is a better option. Price curbs deter producers and don’t check pharmacy margins The Government’s attempt to keep the prices of essential medicines affordable and curb the extraordinary returns earned by private healthcare providers through price controls has started an inexorable process whose end does not seem in sight. Will these moves eventually be counter-productive? First came the move to extend the scope...

-The Hindu Business Line Come November, the Jan Aushadhi initiative completes nine years. But despite its recent achievements, there's more work to be done. PT Jyothi Datta writes Earlier this year, Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Ananth Kumar vowed to end the “medicine mafia” in the country by opening many more Jan Aushadhi kendras, stores that sell generic medicines at affordable prices. Kumar was echoing the mission outlined by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley...