-Livemint.com Farmers need structural reforms, crop diversification and greater public investment rather than subsidies and price support Indian agriculture has been relatively untouched by the structural reforms that lifted incomes in other parts of the economy. Low farm productivity meant that governments tried to improve the lot of farmers through price policy. The problem is that engineering a shift in the terms of trade through higher support prices usually leads to generalized...

-The Hindu Business Line Who would know better than Shaktikanta Das, the former secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, the ‘Good, Bad, and Ugly’ side of demonetisation and GST, the two factors that disrupted the balance sheets of not only the government and corporates but also that of the common man. Das would like to call it “positive disruption” as he believes that the turbulence caused was short-term, and that...

-The Hindu * What’s the problem? The year 2017 was marked by several farmers’ protests nationwide, with a few turning violent. Last month, in New Delhi, 184 farmer groups came together from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Telangana to take part in a ‘protest walk.’ The protest once again highlighted the plight of farmers and the extent of agrarian distress. The agriculture sector is characterised by instability in incomes...

-The Times of India CHANDIGARH: Agri marketing in Punjab is unimaginable without commission agents (arhtiyas). But a section of farmers in the state are beginning to respond to farmer producer organizations' (FPOs) attempt at marketing as an alternative to the traditional direct selling. The move is also expected to help farmers break the wheat-paddy cycle and take to growing vegetables. A study sponsored by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)...

-The Times of India SURAT: Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has started the process to convert organic waste generated in the city to compost and vermin compost. Small plants are being set up at municipal vegetable, flower and fruit markets in the city. SMC has set up 10 small organic waste converter plants to process dry leaves, rotten vegetables, fruits and flowers to compost. These plants which have capacity up to 200 kg...