If the combined Opposition had sat down for weeks so as to find an issue to embarrass the UPA Government and make it a laughing stock before the whole country, they could not have thought of a better issue than the free gift presented to it by the UPA Government by initially insisting that it had irrevocably decided to allow the entry of multi-brand retail leader superstores like Walmart, USA...

India is likely to see record foodgrain production in the current year on good rains, the second advance estimate of the agriculture ministry showed on Friday. Output of total foodgrains comprising rice, wheat, coarse cereals and pulses was seen at 250.42 million tonnes (mt) in the July-June crop year of 2011-12, up 2.3% from the year-ago 244.78 mt, the data showed. This is significant as the optimistic projection comes just ahead of...

The Centre's National Food Security Bill could face some hitches, irrespective to which party forms government in Punjab as both the Congress and Akali Dal-BJP have promised to diversify agricultural production by moving towards cash or commercial crops.  The poll promise by political parties to influence Punjab farmer to also grow crops other than wheat and paddy gives further weight to agriculture minister Sharad Pawar's warning that implementation of food security...

The Election Commission's model code of conduct notwithstanding, liquor flowed freely on the eve of assembly polls in Punjab on Sunday, as campaign managers of different political parties sought to lure voters.  This was especially the case in and around the industrial city of Ludhiana, where more than a million migrant workers abound in Sherpur, Samrala Chowk, Mullanpur and Dhaka colony, among other areas.  Residents in the city said liquor was brought...

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) on Friday signalled its intent to deregulate the sugar industry, a move that could potentially stoke a political backlash, especially at a time when states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand—all sugarcane-growing regions—are in the middle of an election campaign. The opposition claimed that not only was it anti-farmer, it also violated the electoral code of conduct prevalent in five states, while sugar stocks of...