-The Hindu Slowdown has widened across sectors; the new government must hit the ground running A welter of data collectively and individually point to one worrying conclusion: economic momentum across sectors is slowing in the widening absence of that key ingredient, demand. Domestic sales of cars, commercial vehicles and two wheelers all contracted in April, from a year earlier, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has reported. The decline of almost...

-The Indian Express The past couple of months have seen prices of a host of farm commodities surge, mainly on the back of Drought in large parts of western and southern India, coupled with an early and harsher-than-usual summer. New Delhi, Pune: THE BJP-LED NDA government’s tenure has been marked by benign food prices. Consumer food inflation has ruled below general retail inflation for 31 months running, from September 2016 to...

-The Hindu The Maldharis of Kutch are well adapted to a culture of scarcity. But older coping mechanisms have died away Do you remember how the monsoon began last year, ben?” asked Haji bhai of Hodka village in the heart of the Banni grasslands in the Rann of Kutch. “The thunder, the way the ground swelled from hours of rain and tiny grasses appeared the very next day. Do you remember, we...

-The Hindu Several interventions are needed on the demand and supply side to alleviate farm distress Loan waivers remain the preferred solution for governments to tackle farm distress. S. Mahendra Dev and M. Govinda Rao talk about the inability of governments to think of long-term solutions to tackle farm distress, in a discussion moderated by Vikas Dhoot. Edited excerpts: * Despite farm productivity rising, severe distress in the sector is a concern. How...

-Newsclick.in Latest data shows that insurance companies have pocketed over Rs. 10,000 crore surplus in two years. The number of farmers enrolled in the Modi government’s flagship crop insurance scheme (Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana or PMFBY) dipped further to 343 lakh in kharif (summer) crop season of 2018-19 year, according to latest information revealed at the annual Kharif Conference organised by the Agriculture Ministry in Delhi on April 25-26. When the...