-The Hindu Business Line ‘Astonished’ RSS-backed farmers’ body seeks immediate roll-back New Delhi: The Centre’s nod for 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in trading of food products with “no riders”, has not only raised the hackles of the Food Processing Ministry, which has been pushing for 15 per cent mandatory investment in creation of back-end infrastructure to reduce wastage and create jobs, but has also irked farmers organisations, such as...

-The Economic Times blog Prayers have been answered, monsoon has made landfall in Kerala, close to where Vasco da Gama landed in 1498. Potentially, the impact on political fortunes will be no less. This government has promised to double farm incomes in six years and economists argued that this would be impossible because it would entail a 12% annual growth in incomes; unprecedented globally. Starting from such abysmally low farm income...

-The Indian Express The Maharashtra Gramin Bank has written to the district collectors of eight districts expressing inability to disburse crop loans for the upcoming kharif season. Mumbai: The prediction of a good monsoon may not be enough to bring cheers to farmers of Marathwada, as questions are being raised over disbursement of crop loans in the region. The Maharashtra Gramin Bank has written to the district collectors of eight districts...

-Business Standard Official panel points to bid deficiencies in rural job guarantee, pensions, housing and other programmes Wage payment delays are a distressing feature of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), an official panel says. This has to be adequately addressed, by  the Centre and states, to keep the programme’s spirit alive, it has said. It and some other findings of concern are the result of a multi-state Common Review...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Official statistics suggest the juggernaut of India's economy has started to roll at a clattering pace. But some analysts stayed cautious, keeping in mind the low investment levels. The Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) today said the gross domestic product (GDP) - the broadest measure of the economy - had grown at a robust 7.9 per cent in the fourth quarter (January-March 2016), which enabled the government to fulfil...