-The Hindu Business Line ‘Development not at the cost of food security’ After several farmers’ organisations, it is now the turn of agricultural scientists, representing various research institutions, to criticise the Land Acquisition Bill. On Monday, senior agricultural scientists told the joint Parliamentary panel, looking into the amendments to the 2013 legislation, that reducing cultivable land can pose a serious threat to the food security of the country. Representatives, including Vice-Chancellors of the Indian...

-The Hindu Business Line New Delhi/Bengaluru: The rapid progress of the south-west monsoon across the country has accelerated the sowing pace of key kharif crops such as rice, pulses, oilseeds and cotton. The south-west monsoon, the lifeline of India’s agriculture, has covered the country two weeks ahead of schedule. Agriculture Ministry data showed that kharif planting has been done in 165.62 lakh hectares so far this year, against 134.18 lakh hectares in...

-The Hindu Business Line Calls for restructuring Nafed for effective procurement of pulses, oilseeds   Bengaluru: The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) has made a pitch for encouraging water use efficiency in agriculture. As part of its non-price policy recommendations for kharif 2015-16, the crop advisory body has suggested that States fix quantitative ceilings on per hectare use of both water and electricity. The farm sector accounts for about 83 per cent...

-Hindustan Times London: There are 1.6 billion people living in multidimensional poverty across the world and nearly 440 million of them are in eight large Indian states, according to a new analysis using a unique index developed at the University of Oxford.   The eight Indian states that have similar number of poor as in 25 African countries are Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan and West Bengal. The poorest...

-The Financial Express With Delhi and its adjoining areas receiving moderate to heavy pre-monsoon showers and the southwest winds active over Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand, the planting of key kharif crops, such as paddy, pulses, oilseeds, sugarcane and cotton, is set to get a boost. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday said monsoon was expected to hit northern states over the next few days. “The conditions are favourable for...