-The Business Standard Interview with Union minister in charge of food and public distribution Ever since the new government took office in May, food prices and related issues have been one of the most discussed subjects. Ram Vilas Paswan, the minister in charge of food and public distribution, says hoarders are to blame. And, speaks of the various other priorities under his charge. Edited exceprts of a talk with Sanjeeb Mukherjee: * The...

-Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Agriculture Cumulative rainfall till 05.08.2014 was 405.3 mm which is 19% less than normal or Long Period Average (LPA) of 499.3 mm. As per information provided by IMD, out of 620 districts for which rainfall data is available, 251 (40%) have so far received normal/excess rainfall. State Governments are empowered to initiate appropriate relief measures in the wake drought from funds readily available under State Disaster Response...

-Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Agriculture Government restructured the ongoing scheme and following centrally sponsored Mission/Schemes are under implementation from 1.4.2014: (i) National Food Security Mission (NFSM) (ii) National Horticulture Mission (iii) National Mission on Oilseeds & Oil Palm (iv) National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) including Micro Irrigation (v) National Mission on Agricultural Extension & Technology (vi) Integrated Scheme for Farmers Income Security (vii) Integrated Scheme on Agri. Census & Statistics (viii) Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Marketing (ix)...

-The Hindu Business Line Whether it is promoting a lease market in land or the use of tractors, credit should be tailored to the needs of marginal players The Finance Minister has announced several measures to make farming competitive and rev up growth in agriculture. While this is welcome, the sector as a whole needs an overhaul to make best use of these measures. To address the needs of landless farmers who are...

-The Guardian A UN working group has devised a final draft of targets to succeed the millennium development goals. What do you think of the 17 proposals? The UN working group responsible for crafting the sustainable development goals (SDGs) has handed down its final proposal, adding a goal to address domestic and global inequality. The recommendations include 17 goals and 169 targets to be achieved by 2030. The list includes a reworking of...