-Down to Earth The United States Department of Agriculture has said rice production in India may decline by 0.9% in 2022-23 due to uneven rains Rice prices are spiking across India, even in areas where it is the staple. This development comes even as the country has experienced an abnormal Kharif season, with uneven distribution of rainfall. The cereal that forms the staple diet of over half of India’s population has become prohibitively...

-Down to Earth No regulation on marketing strategies by drug companies has created a medical autocracy, the Dolo-650 controversy shows If you had to take paracetamol 650 milligrams instead of paracetamol 500 mg three times a day during the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be familiar with the drug called Dolo-650. The drug is prescribed for reducing fever and pain, but the medicine possibly reached you thanks to its manufacturer’s market strategy. A petition...

-Moneycontrol.com The study also suggests that market confidence tends to be in favour of PSBs in terms of crisis. The latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bulletin published on August 18 suggests that a big bang approach to privatisation of government-owned banks may do more harm than good. A paper published in the bulletin analyses various pros and cons of privatisation and identifies how an emerging economy like India may face more challenges...

-Business Standard While the production of foodgrains and the financial position of the government are important points, electoral compulsion may become the deciding factor for the survival of this scheme A sharp drawdown in India’s wheat inventory exacerbated by a fear of a fall in rice production due to drought-like conditions in the main growing states has raised questions on the government’s ability to sustain the free foodgrains distribution scheme beyond its...

-Livemint.com Wheat production estimate sees marginal upward revision to 106.8 million tons, though current rate lowest in 3 years. New Delhi: Production of foodgrain in India — comprising rice, wheat, coarse grains and pulses — is estimated at a record 315.7 million tonnes in 2021-22, shows the fourth advance estimates released by the Agriculture Ministry on Wednesday. According to the latest numbers, wheat production is revised upwards, though marginally, from 106.4 million tonnes...