-Newsclick.in Northern Maharashtra, which produces almost 60% of India’s total onion crop, has seen a steady fall in onion rates creating a crisis for the farmers in the drought affected state. Two months back, NewsClick reported the suicide of a 22-year-old boy whose onion crop had failed. This Akshay Tambe was from Bhoom tehsil of Marathwada, an area which is actually not known for onion cultivation. But the heart wrenching stories of...

-The Hindu Lender cites high bad loans for drastic move in two States; Marathwada, Vidarbha to be impacted Mumbai: In an unusual move, a state-run lender, Bank of Maharashtra, has decided not to extend loans in eight zones in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh that include Aurangabad, Latur, Akola, and Amravati, which are hit by drought. The bank cited high bad loans from agricultural advances in the branches of these zones for the decision....

-The Hindu Congress’ Ahmed Patel says Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority should have intervened With protests coming from all ends of the political spectrum, the Gujarat government has decided to back four potato farmers in their fight against PepsiCo’s Rs. 4.2 crore lawsuit against them for allegedly infringing its rights by growing the potato used in Lays chips. State will join A senior official told The Hindu that the State government...

-The Hindu No party admits to offering bribes to voters, even though it is common knowledge that they all do. In the just-concluded elections to 38 Lok Sabha constituencies and 18 Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu, cash seizures alone added up to around ?215 crore, almost 10 times the haul during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. While some activists blame the ‘freebie culture’ in the State, others call for an overhaul...

-The Hindu If the farmers stop growing the registered potato variety used in its Lays chips. In the wake of criticism over its ?4.2 crore lawsuit against four Gujarati potato farmers, food and beverages giant PepsiCo has offered to settle the case if the farmers stop growing the registered potato variety used in its Lays chips. In an Ahmedabad civil court on Friday, PepsiCo’s lawyer offered a settlement on these terms: the farmers...