-The Hindu Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): The government is considering a proposal to exempt stamp duty on agricultural loans issued by commercial banks. Finance Minister K.M. Mani told a meeting of the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) here on Monday that a decision on the issue would be taken soon after assessing the financial implications. Pointing to the substantial share of commercial banks in primary sector credit, the last meeting of the SLBC had...

-The Telegraph Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government should have calculated the costs of possible retaliation by other states before banning potato export from Bengal, agriculture experts have said. For now, no state has threatened a payback for the ban, clamped despite pleas from the chief ministers of Odisha and Assam after a shortage pushed up potato prices in Bengal. As the Bengal administration grapples with the problem, importers of essential foodstuff have sounded...

-The Hindu Assistance to be provided to selected villages to set up rooftop solar panels, rainwater harvesting structures and waste management units Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): Farmers in 14 villages across the State will soon be equipped with hi- tech and precision farming methods to boost the production of banana and vegetables. The government has accorded administrative sanction for a flagship project mooted by the Agriculture department to establish poly houses and popularise precision farming...

-The Hindu Bangalore: The government has identified 15 basic amenities to enhance quality of life in villages. It has asked gram panchayats (GPs) to make all these facilities available to the people. These include drinking water, playgrounds and open-air theatres. The move is aimed at arresting the migration of rural people towards urban areas. In a circular issued last week, the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Department said of the 6.11...

-The Hindu Bangalore: In one of the biggest cattle deaths due to foot and mouth disease in the State, the outbreak in southern districts has claimed 730 head of cattle so far this month. Negligence on the part of farmers to get the cattle vaccinated and also delay in starting the seasonal vaccination is said to have contributed to the outbreak even as the officials suspect that a new strain of the...