-The Financial Express The NITI Aayog must firm up a concrete plan involving the states to deal with monsoon deficiency to avoid all-round confusion. This is an old and oft-repeated story in the media, but worth mentioning here for the readers who have missed it. It goes like this. During the period of erstwhile Planning Commission, one of the officials in-charge of projecting agricultural growth found out an innovative way to do...

-The Hindu Business Line A short delay does not impact sowing as there is a sufficient window The onset of monsoon over Kerala has been less than reassuring. Not only is it late by five days compared with the normal date of June 1, but it has also failed to arrive in the eight-day window set around the median of May 30. The conspicuous lack of flourish has led many to doubt...

-Livemint.com Modi would do well to remember Mao’s dictum of ‘walking on two legs’, which envisaged a balance between agriculture and industry According to one of his ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants India to have a China-like dominance in manufacturing. China’s success in manufacturing holds several lessons for India but China’s performance in agriculture is no less remarkable. Over the past few decades, rapid agricultural growth has allowed the Chinese...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Private forecasters are counting on temperature changes in the Indian Ocean to strengthen the monsoon current like it did in 1997, when rainfall was normal, despite a strong El Nino. While forecasters are divided about the monsoon outlook, experts say that India has become less vulnerable to monsoon rain as the share of winter-sown crops has risen over the years, while only 40% of rural households...

-The New Indian Express BHUBANESWAR: Though lakhs of persons are enrolled under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the State, not many women benefit out of it. The State, which has a huge casual labour population, continues to lag behind when it comes to participation of women in MGNREGS. This despite the fact that the scheme besides guaranteeing employment, is aimed at making a positive impact on...