-Scroll.in Land leasing laws are negatively impacting the people they are supposed to benefit, pulling agricultural productivity down, and increasing Land degradation. Nearly one-third of India is reeling under drought, evident from reports and images of distressed farmers and parched Land captured in the media. The increasing unpredictability of rainfall and prolonged hot patches has severely impacted rural farmLand and, consequently, the people dependent on agriculture. Drought and resultant crop loss, in...

-TheWire.in Agriculture in the state needs a new paradigm, one that acknowledges the scarcity of interlinked resources and the costs of their use. Recently, experts from Punjab Agricultural University advised farmers in the state to reduce the area taken up by the cultivation of basmati, predicting a crash in basmati prices due to huge carryover stock. Last year, the state produced 18 million tonnes of paddy and contributed a record 9.4 million...

-USNews.com Allowing the public to see government at work can help tackle corruption in the country. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Washington, D.C., this week to meet with President Obama and address a joint session of the U.S. Congress — the first such address by an Indian leader in more than a decade. In the U.S., India is known for its expertise in information technology. Less well known are India's innovations...

-The Indian Express Known as the region’s “cow hill”, where locals send their old and feeble cattle to graze, the plateau this summer has seen thousands of cows perish on the hill due to starvation. Karauli: The latest political battle in Rajasthan is unfolding on an unusual turf: a denuded hilltop with hundreds of dead cows. The plateau, which spreads beyond Kochar village in eastern Rajasthan, is at the centre of Congress’s...

-Hindustan Times The government could move away from large hikes in support prices for farmers, agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh hinted on Wednesday, signalling a key farm policy shift aimed at rationalising subsidies and taming inflation. The minister said some people thought the “only way to shore up farmer income is through minimum support prices”. “Wrong. This alone won’t do unless farmers diversify their activities into livestock, kitchen gardens, fishery etc. That’s our...