-Outlook Pulses are falling off the poor man’s plate. Price rise may hit the middle class next. Pulses—all-important as a source of protein—are set to be spoilers this year in the government’s endeavour to keep a check on food inflation. Already, over the last nine months, the prices of some pulses have jumped 64 per cent in major cities. This is because of below-normal monsoon last year, compounded by untimely rain and...

-DNA From May 20, 2014 to May 24, 2015 has seen as many as 1,306 farmers suicides, a 40% jump from last year. In the middle of the media blitzkrieg over the completion of a year in office of the Narendra Modi government comes the information that it is anything but 'achche din' in the farmer suicide country of Vidarbha. From May 20, 2014 to May 24, 2015 has seen as many...

-The Tribune Grains Of Discontent: The damage to wheat crop due to untimely rain and hailstorm, followed by delayed payments, this rabi season has further stressed Punjab’s farmers. While the cost of farm inputs has risen manifold over the past few years, the profit margin is on a constant decline, thus making farming unviable. Unable to bear losses, several farmers have committed suicide in recent past As the day breaks, he enters...

-Livemint.com/ India Ratings Report by India Ratings & Research Non-performing loan ratio of agriculture loan portfolio could double for some banks The asset quality of India’s agricultural credit could be significantly affected by crop damage due to untimely hail and rain in March, according to India Ratings and Research. The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of the agriculture loan portfolio could double for some banks, though the reduction of overall return on average assets...

-DNA Maharashtra: The consistently Untimely Rainfall has disturbed the crop sowing pattern in Maharashtra, and farmers are clueless what to sow now. The distress has led to a rise in farmer suicides in the state. Kailash Patil, cotton growing farmer from Jalgaon, told dna, "We received rainfall throughout this year. We were trained to cultivate crops as kharif (monsoon – June and July) and rabi (winter crop). Through most of both the seasons,...