President Pratibha Patil today reaffirmed the government’s resolve “to maintain the momentum for reforms on a wide front”, prompting policymakers to outline the possible economic agenda ahead of the budget just a week away. Top officials offered their take on the phrase, mentioned in Patil’s speech to Parliament at the start of the budget session. According to the them, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee are looking to...

Food security scenario has been very grim in Orissa. It is getting grimmer day-by-day, thanks to the high food price inflation on the one hand and climatic aberrations like droughts, floods or untimely rains on the other. These extremes hurt the State most, as it has the maximum poor populace in the country. Data details the enormity. Around 9 per cent households face grave food security in the State. The proportion...

Even as everyone is celebrating the bounce in the economy with a return to 8.5 per cent growth, the jury is out on the accuracy of the agricultural output numbers. The impressive 5.4 per cent agricultural growth rate number is suspect if one looks at recent trends in farm productivity and output. The agriculture ministry anticipates foodgrain output to grow by 6.4 per cent to 232 million tonnes in 2010-11....

Record high food prices are putting added pressure on the United Nations agency that helps feed nearly 100 million of the world’s poorest people, with officials warning of a potential “perfect storm” combination of soaring costs, weather emergencies and political instability. “We are on red alert and we are continually assessing needs and reassessing plans and stand ready to assist,” UN World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Josette Sheeran told the...

The two-day state-level research and extension specialists workshop for kharif crops organized by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) was inaugurated on Monday. PAU vice-chancellor Dr MS Kang visited the exhibition of latest farm technologies that was put up on the occasion and released the publications 'Use of mat type nursery and transplanting machinery for paddy', 'Improved design and cost estimates of net houses', and 'Rainwater harvesting from rooftop for groundwater recharge'...