-The Hindu The U.P. government will now provide farmers a grant of Rs. 1,500 per quintal in the Kharif season and Rs. 800 per quintal in the Rabi season. Lucknow: To help farmers recover from successive crop losses in drought-affected Bundelkhand, the Uttar Pradesh government is encouraging them to increase the cultivation of oilseeds, especially sesame (til), in the coming Kharif season. The State has increased subsidy on oilseeds. The government will now...

-The Hindu Business Line Bidding process apace to select insurance firms for Fasal Bima Yojana New Delhi: The Centre’s flagship crop insurance scheme, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, is likely to be rolled out in several parts of the country by next month as the bidding process for selecting insurance companies is over in at least ten States and a Union Territory and many others are in the midst of it. All top...

-Business Standard Environmental activist and water expert Himanshu Thakkar tells Aditi Phadnis that India needs a comprehensive water-use policy immediately. * You are quoted as saying that India is in the grip of its worst hydrological crisis ever. Isn't that a bit drastic? After all, India has endured endemic water scarcity in many parts of the country for several years now. What makes you so pessimistic? I do not think it is statement...

Till recently agricultural production in the current crop year was expected to be adversely affected by drought situation in more than 10 states, apart from hailstorms and excessive rainfall that happened in March. However, if one were to believe a recent forecast made by the Ministry of Agriculture, the overall foodgrain production in the country this crop year is anticipated to remain almost the same as last year. In 2014-15,...

-The Hindu Business Line While kharif crops will be affected, rabi crops have assured irrigation Depleted reservoirs and parched lands await the onset of the south-west monsoon. The water level in key reservoirs across the country is fast receding, going by data from the Central Water Commission (CWC). The storage levels in 91 reservoirs have dropped from 95.693 bcm (billion cubic metres) in September to 72 bcm in December and are now...