-The Indian Express While the Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra can claim satisfaction for doing everything possible to ensure payment by mills — and before state polls, hardly three months away — that sentiment isn’t really echoed on the ground. Pune: Maharashtra’s Assembly elections are due in October, which is also when the next 2019-20 sugar season takes off. “The current unpaid dues to our cane growers will be cleared well...

-The Hindu The lives of tea-estate workers in West Bengal have worsened in many aspects over the years The tea plantation sector continues to play a significant role in the economy of north Bengal. There are 276 organised tea estates spread over the three tea-growing regions of West Bengal: Darjeeling Hills, Terai and Dooars. Besides the formally registered large tea plantations, there are thousands of small growers. According to one estimate, the...

-The Telegraph There are concerns that the proposal in the Economic Survey would end up privatizing a public good The Economic Survey has proposed that data of citizens obtained by the government be monetized for social benefits. It has claimed that data are a public commodity and, hence, people should benefit from large data sets. It has been proposed that data should be sold by the government to private entities like corporations...

-Livemint.com * FM vows to invest widely in agriculture infrastructure, but offers little to revive rural income and demand * In terms of new schemes, the budget announced Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana for the fisheries sector and another to boost traditional industries In March 2018, Rakesh Sangwan, 27, a farmer in Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri, stopped watering his tomato plants. The crop slowly withered away and, subsequently, it was mowed down by a...

-PTI * Survey also noted that the next generation in 48% farming families does not want to pursue agriculture * At least 43.6 per cent farmers said they did not get the correct price for their produce, said the survey conducted rural media platform Gaon Connection NEW DELHI: Loan schemes don't reach almost 60% people in rural India, says a new survey which also finds climate change to be the biggest challenge for...