-The Pioneer Hitting at UPA’s biggest flagship scheme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Agriculture Ministry has criticised the scheme in it’s first ever Agriculture Survey saying that MGNREGA has led to double digit growth in wages annually in the last few years even exceeding the rate of inflation that prevailed during this period. The Agriculture Survey is compiled by the Agriculture Ministry as a precursor to Union Budget on...

-The Hindu Business Line A Government report has called for enhancing investment in agriculture and leveraging technology to boost the country's farm sector growth in the years ahead. The report ‘State of Indian Agriculture 2011-12,' released by the Agriculture Ministry on Tuesday, called for institutional reforms in research set up to make it more accountable and geared towards delivery, conservation of natural resources such as water and land among others. “Achieving a 8-9...

-The Times of India Instead of creating happiness in the lives of farmers in adjacent villages, Adani power corporation has rendered them landless as their agricultural land is forcibly acquired by the district administration for requirement of the thermal power company. Once affluent, these farmers have now come below poverty line. Adani Thermal Power Corporation has acquired agricultural land in and around it's thermal power plant near Tiroda (Gondia). The state government gave...

-AFP Water problems in many parts of the world are chronic and without a crackdown on waste will worsen as demand for food rises and climate change intensifies, the UN warned on Sunday.  Issued on the eve of a six-day gathering on world water issues, the United Nations, in a massive report, said many daunting challenges lie ahead.  They include providing clean water and sanitation to the poor, feeding a world population set...

In India, agriculture and allied sector is the source of income for over 60% of rural population and its contribution to GDP has been consistently coming down and currently stands at 14.3%.  For the Indian economy to grow at the rate of 8-9%, the growth rate of agriculture sector has to be more than 4%. The critical role of agriculture in the economy highlights the need for a larger investment in...