-Business Standard Surveys show 40% still get loans from non-institutional sources & at high rates A little over half of India's agricultural households were in debt, with 40 per cent of the dues from non-institutional lenders, during agricultural year 2012-13 (July to June), according to a official survey. This 'Situation assessment survey of agricultural households' showed 51.9 per cent of all agricultural households were indebted, with the average amount of unpaid dues being...

-PTI   Households in rural areas hold assets worth over Rs 10 lakh on average, less than half the holdings by those in cities, says a government survey. At the same time, villages account for higher proportion of families owning some physical and financial assets at 98 per cent, higher than 94 per cent in urban areas. "Around 98 per cent of rural households and around 94 per cent of urban households in India...

-The Indian Express Cash in the hands of the poor can transform their lives. With bank accounts and an Aadhaar card for all becoming a reality, it is possible to transfer money directly to the poor and check middlemen who siphon away funds. Cash transfers (CTs) come in many forms. They may be conditional or unconditional, selective or non-selective, targeted or universal. Some types of CT are as susceptible to misuse as...

-The Times of India NAGPUR (Maharashtra): Though untimely, delayed, erratic, insufficient or excess rains have been ruining crops in the region for the last few years, farmers claim this year will see the worst crop failures in recent times. All three major Vidarbha crops, cotton, soyabean and orange, have suffered huge losses due to the truant rains. Generally, at least one crop survives nature's vagaries so farmers get some income. But this...

-The Hindu Nagpur: With the highest number of farmer suicides recorded in the year 2013, Maharashtra continues to paint a dismal picture on the agrarian front with over 3,000 farmers taking their lives. According to a recent report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a total of 3,146 farmers killed themselves in the state in 2013. Maharashtra repeated this performance despite the state registering 640 less farm suicides than 2012. According to NCRB...