-TheWire.in Premium collected by insurance companies has increased by Rs 36,848 crore, while the number of farmers covered has increased only by 0.42%, according to RTI data obtained by The Wire. New Delhi: In January 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a revamped crop insurance scheme, his government’s flagship scheme for farmers, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). It would “bring about a major transformation in the lives of farmers”, Modi...

-The Telegraph Indians are unwittingly eating more and more genetically modified (GM) products every day A few months ago, researchers of the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) chanced upon something quite alarming while testing SAMples of breakfast cereals, infant food, edible oils and other food products at their state-of-the-art laboratory in Nimli, Rajasthan. Their sensitive qPCR instrument reported the presence of genetically modified (GM) ingredients in almost one-third of these...

-The Hindu Sonnu gets yield of 6.5 quintals an acre VISAKHAPATNAM (Andhra Pradesh): Following zero budget natural farming, Pangi Sonnu of Araku Valley mandal cultivated SAMa (little millet) got a yield of 6.5 quintals an acre. The crop-cutting experiment in a 5x5 square metre plot was conducted at the ZBNF SAMa festival at Baliyaguda village on Friday. The festival was organised by Agriculture Department, Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sadhikara SAMstha, Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, Sanjeevini...

-The Hindu Business Line But wheat planting begins on a strong note New Delhi: Tepid progress in the planting of pulses and coarse cereals has pulled down total rabi sown area by 20 per cent till the weekend compared to the corresponding week in the 2017-18 season, according to data released by the Agriculture Ministry on Friday. However, the planting of wheat has begun on a strong note with acreage registering a 20...

-The Hindu But forensic reports say notes are of poor quality, security features not copied Two years after demonetisation, the fake currency notes seized so far are not of a high quality, a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has found. Another Home Ministry official said the network of SAMe fake currency operators was still intact as two years ago, that pushed fake notes from the Bangladesh border. But there was not...