-United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) A prolonged and deadly heatwave has hit large swaths of India and Pakistan affecting hundreds of millions of people and sparking food and energy shortages. Experts say the extreme heat is a grim preview of what the climate crisis has in store for a region home to over 1 billion people. Temperatures in India’s capital and parts of Pakistan have at times reached close to 50°C, killing...

-NDTV.com India banned wheat exports earlier this month as an intense heat wave hit output and domestic prices hit a record high. Davos: International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva on Tuesday implored India to reconsider its ban on wheat exports, saying the country could play a key role in international food security and global stability. "I do have an appreciation for the fact that India needs to feed nearly 1.35 billion people...

-Livemint.com The political economy favours the government taking tough measures to protect the consumers — more numerous and more vocal than producers — even if these measures go against the grain of economic sense. India’s decision to restrict wheat export is disappointing but not a big surprise. Banning exports has been the government’s standard response to any shortage of agricultural commodities, denying farmers the benefit of global prices when these are high....

-The Tribune Experts urge the government to be cautious on wheat export, suggest an upper cap, say traders dictating markets New Delhi: Wheat production in the country is down due to “early summers”, the government’s procurement has reduced and the prices of ‘atta’ and byproducts like bread, rusks and biscuits are rising by the day. While the government is calling increasing exports as “beneficial” for farmers, experts are advocating “caution”, including imposing...

-NITI Aayog Working Paper, ISBN: 978-81-953811-7-3 Abstract -  The importance of agriculture in an economy usually declines as it climbs the development ladder. Raising agriculture productivity has been known to be an important precursor. Labour productivity in agriculture can either be increased by higher land productivity or higher land availability per farmer and mechanisation. In India, however, the dramatic increase in land productivity through industrial farming has caused severe environmental damage and...