-PTI The inter-ministerial panel is looking at suggesting market reforms in a big way and increasing focus on sub-sectors of agriculture like animal husbandry, poultry and fisheries Hyderabad: A committee formed by the Centre to double farmers’ income by 2022 is considering major reforms in agriculture sector, like adopting a profit-centric approach and to aim at increased productivity and reduced cost of cultivation. The inter-ministerial panel, constituted in April last year, is also...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Retail inflation cooled to five-year low in January on the back of sliding vegetable and food prices but the lurking price pressure may prompt the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to maintain a wait-and-watch policy on interest rate for now. Data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Monday showed inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), rose 3.2% in January, slower than...

-Scroll.in India's social-sector spending remains woefully low and despite claims of being a pro-farmer Budget, the effective allocations are nearly the same as last year. Some commentators expected that the Union Budget 2017-’18 would craft a sharp departure from earlier budgets of this government. This it would do to mitigate the immense suffering of millions of casual workers, farmers and small traders caused by the “shock and awe” of the astoundingly callous...

-IANS Kolkata: Lack of policy directions for ensuring quality implementation of programmes makes the Union Budget 2017-18 allocations to ailing core social sectors like education and health inadequate in delivering the benefits, experts say. Schemes like Swachh Bharat-Urban and the National Social Assistance Programme saw no increase, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan got a mere 4.4 per cent rise in allocation, while the Integrated Child Development Services got an enhancement of about five per...

-The Hindu Business Line Bringing digital banking to Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies is an important and laudable aspect of the Budget The Budget hides months of discussion, with stakeholders nursing a gamut of interests. This year was no exception and the Budget was an exercise in the accommodation of innumerable expectations; and it is bound to dissatisfy many. I would like to apply the old economic litmus test to judge its efficacy: Is...