-Business Standard To be announced in next few weeks and in coming Budget To widen its rural push and to counter the Opposition's allegation that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government is anti-poor, the Centre is mulling multiple interventions which would include expanding the role of women-driven self help groups (SHGs) and promoting self-employment for rural youth. Some official said the new crop insurance scheme, approved by the Cabinet recently is part of...

-IndiaSpend.com Beed and Washim (Maharashtra): You would not think there was a worsening farm crisis in India’s second-largest agricultural economy if you met Jairam Jadhav in the central region of Marathwada, one of the areas facing a drought that equals the worst in a century. Jadhav, 35, is a happy man. Despite two seasons of truant rains, his well has enough water to supply his 20-acres of sugarcane, cotton and pigeon pea...

-Economic and Political Weekly Agriculture cannot be revived without a different approach to water, soil, crops and research. For the second year in succession, rainfall in the monsoon season has been less than normal. As many as 302 out of the 640 districts in the country have been declared drought-hit and the impact of the drought is the severest in nine major states of south, central and east India. It is striking...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Identifying "informal tenancy" as one of the main reasons behind farmer suicides since many don't get farm credit and crop insurance, a group of secretaries has suggested the government come out with a model tenancy law. Such a law will protect the tenants as they will get access to loans from banks and financing agencies and it will also end the fear of original owners...

-The Times of India Nagpur: Chairman of state task force on farmers, Kishore Tiwari, has urged chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to ban use of chemicals in 14 suicide-prone districts of Maharashtra. Tiwari's suggestion follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to emulate Sikkim, which has become the first state to switch over to total organic farming to save environment. "To start with at least the 14 districts of Maharashtra, affected by farmers' suicide,...