-The Indian Express The Indian meteorological department (IMD) website states that Kautilya's Arthashastra contains records of rainfall and its impact on revenue, as well as details about relief work. Similarly, Kalidasa's Meghdoot, written around the seventh century, mentions the date of the onset of the monsoon and traces the path of monsoon clouds. Till today, forecasts are made on the same broad lines. Farmers like me still look towards indigenous knowledge for...

-FirstPost.com Farmer suicides haven't gone up in Maharashtra: Why is Modi tweaking data? Prime Minister Narendra Modi is aggressively attempting to make the high incidence of farmers's suicide in Maharashtra an important election issue. The BJP is probably trying to make inroads in rural Maharashtra where it is not known to be strong traditionally. Modi has quoted government statistics to suggest Maharashtra has had more than 10 farmers committing suicide every day. Needless...

-The Economic Times Dinkar Patil, a farmer from Buldhana district in Vidarbha, Maharashtra, normally cultivates cotton on his 13-acre farm land. This year, however, he has skipped the cotton crop and opted for soyabean and tur dal. "The rainfall started late. I did not cultivate cotton because of the delayed rains and the huge increase in cost of cultivation of the crop," said Patil. He is expecting a fall of about...

-India Today Groundwater is being extracted in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan at a rate faster than it's replenished, according to the latest report of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB). The status of groundwater extraction - the proportion of water drawn out to annual recharge - in Delhi and the three states is more than 100 per cent. In Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Lakshwadeep, Pondicherry and Daman and Diu, the...

-Deccan Chronicle Hyderabad: The undue delay in remitting the first installment of loan waiver amount to banks by the Telangana state government has resulted in farmers across the state losing crop insurance benefit for the ongoing kharif season. Reports from Telangana districts confirm that the government did not remit the amount that was promised by it to banks by September 30, the last day for the banks to make adjustments of...