-Livemint.com Wide disparities in agri-marketing regulations have resulted in fragmented markets across states. The new farm bills aim to change this but the jury is still out on whether it will have the intended impact. On 26 September, government procurement of food crops commenced across the country, five days in advance, following the enactment of three contentious farm bills. Under the new policy regime, farmers need not sell their produce through designated...

-Hindustan Times Flood-based irrigation in Haryana, Punjab a threat to groundwater which is depleting over 3 feet every year Chandigarh: Breaking the traditional wheat-paddy cycle is the need of the hour to preserve groundwater for the future generations, reveals a research conducted by scientists of the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), Karnal (Haryana). Asserting that the rice crop alone consumes about 50% of the total irrigation water, the researchers have suggested radical...

-The Hindu Business Line Commission agents, who procure paddy, pay less than the MSP. There is no moisture testing or correct weighment. Is there a nexus all round? It is widely perceived that MSP operations in Haryana are quite effective and farmers there are a happy lot. But the reality is quite different. In the last paddy season, many farmers in Karnal’s Taraori, the largest grain mandi in Haryana, got only Rs.1,750/quintal...

-Down to Earth Nasa’s satellite image showed at least 100 such incidents in Punjab in the last 72 hours Nasa satellite images recorded scores of farm fires across Punjab and Haryana in the last seven days, indicating that the stubble burning season has started in the two states. Several red dots, indicating stubble burning activity, were seen in the images, especially over the districts of Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala in Punjab, and Karnal,...

-The Hindu National Capital Region Planning Board also released regional plans for 7 districts The National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) on Friday released the functional plan for micro and household enterprises in the NCR that aims to boost micro, small and household enterprises, and approved regional plans for seven districts. Addressing the NCRPB Board meeting, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister of State (independent charge) Hardeep Singh Puri told NCR states to...