-TheWire.in From seeds and machinery to livestock and irrigation, the state needs to change the status quo. One eye must be firmly kept on the future. If Punjab’s agriculture sector is to succeed, it has to think beyond short-term crises such as the current pandemic-induced one. For instance, the Expert Group headed by Montek Singh Ahluwalia has made important recommendations about seeds, agricultural research, livestock, dairy and food processing. It has been noted that...

-The Indian Express A majority of those committing suicide, however, were from poorer backgrounds and married. Family issues and illness accounted for most such deaths. People living in the southern states have higher propensity to commit suicide than those living in the poorer and more heavily populated northern states, the latest data on suicides released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) show. A majority of those committing suicide, however, were from poorer...

-Down to Earth The Event 142 variety of genetically modified brinjal was quietly given approval without any data in the public domain, claim experts Experts have slammed a recent move of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) — a government-appointed committee responsible for appraisal of proposals of genetically engineered organisms — giving its greenlight for biosafety research-level-II (BRL-II) field trials for Event 142, a new variety of genetically modified brinjal (Bt brinjal)...

ActionAid Association's (AAA) national level survey among people dependent on the informal economy during the third phase of the national lockdown towards the end of May 2020 (i.e. between May 14th and May 22nd, 2020) has documented the "nature and extent of the transitions in the lives and livelihoods of informal workers, including migrant workers, during the pandemic and provide[s] an insight into the precarity they experience and the coping...

-The Hindu Current method is based on pre-1960s rainfall data, says expert; report also calls for changes in agro plans owing to shift in rainfall and temperature variation A recent analysis of the last 58 years’ (1960 to 2017) weather data of karnataka has indicated a considerable shift in rainfall pattern in the State, which has a bearing on agriculture and water security. It calls for changes in the present cropping pattern and...