-The Indian Express India’s pulses production increased by nearly half in the space of two years, from 16-17 million tonnes to 23-24 million tonnes this year New Delhi: Till recently, there were two agri-commodities in which India was seen as being perpetually and increasingly import-dependent: edible oils and pulses. Between 2010-11 and 2016-17, the import value of the former soared from $4.72 billion to $10.89 billion, while from $2.25 billion to $4.24...

-Financial Express Loan waivers adversely affect marginal farmers due to a reduction of formal credit channels given to them On the eve of the Karnataka election, waivers of farm loans were one of the major election promises. Now, chief minister HD Kumaraswamy wants to fulfill his pre-poll promise and even threatened to resign if he cannot fulfill his promise. As has been seen time and time again, “farmers first” provides political mileage....

-Press Note by Foundation for Media Professionals (FMP), dated 28 May, 2018 Mr Narendra Modi is perhaps the first Prime Minister of India to have not held a single press conference, four years at a stretch. This could not however have been unrelated to a series of events that raise fresh concerns about media freedom. The concerted online hate campaign against journalist Ms Rana Ayyub, and the circulation of a fake pornographic...

-Business Standard Also, over the past 3 years, GDP in dollar terms has grown 12.9%, more than twice our rate Mumbai: After trailing its big neighbour for four decades, Bangladesh has gone ahead of India in economic growth and on social development indicators. In the three years ending 2016, Bangladesh’s gross domestic product (at current prices) in dollar terms grew at a compounded annual rate (CAGR) of 12.9 per cent, more than twice...

-Livemint.com The issue of frequent hikes in fuel prices is a matter of debate and concern, law and justice minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said after a Union cabinet meeting New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on Wednesday signalled its intent to stay the course on fuel pricing reforms and said that it was working toward a “long-term solution”. This comes against the backdrop of an international crude oil price rally, with...