Rampant illegal iron ore mining in Chitradurga and Tumkur districts has caused severe damage to agriculture and horticulture activities, as well as spreading of mining related diseases among the people of the region, a study has found.    The micro-level environmental impact assessment study conducted in the two districts by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) also expressed concern over large-scale damages due to violations of environmental norms.  It recommended...

Farmers in Maharashtra flock to 
a new breed of aggressive leaders Its name in Marathi means edge of the hill, but Dongarkada has no hill or mountain in its vicinity. What the village in Maharashtra's Hingoli district has is a cooperative sugar factory controlled by Congress leader Ashok Chavan. Though the Adarsh Housing Society scam rocked the state and forced him to resign as chief minister, the village remains loyal to...

The Finance Ministry has launched a concessional loan scheme for farmers to prevent distress sale of agricultural produce. Farmers who park their produce at warehouses will be able to avail short-term post harvest loan at 7% as against the prevailing rate of 11%-12%. Farmers making timely payment of the loans will further enjoy 3% interest subvention, bringing the real interest rate to 4%, according to the finance ministry directive. This will benefit...

-The Times of India   The states would milk the Centre by arbitrarily hiking their 'minimum wages' if workers in the job guarantee scheme were to be paid by the "minimum wages Act", the Centre cautioned while appealing against a court order quashing power to fix remuneration under MGNREGA. Union rural development ministry has sought revision of the Karnataka high court order giving in to the finance ministry's pressure despite the fear...

-PTI The agriculture sector performed exceedingly well in 2011, with record grain production of over 240 million tonnes giving enough leeway for the government to lift a ban on exports of wheat and non-basmati rice and introduce the food security bill in Parliament. Farmers’ long-standing demand for crop loans at a 4% rate of interest was met during the year, although with a rider that the facility would be available to...