-The Hindu Tirupur (Tamil Nadu): A group of self-help group women from Kerala is showing the way in mechanised paddy transplantation which was now initiated for the first time in a commercial way in Tirupur district this season. Expertise of members of Haritha Vanitha Labour Bank, a women self-help group at Kollangode in Palakkad district, who were trained in mechanised paddy transplantation and harvest techniques by the Kerala Government, are called...

-DNA State policies favouring certain food crops have rendered pulses forbiddingly expensive and the common man is feeling the pinch The huge spurt in dal prices, touching Rs180 per kilogram and even Rs200 in some cities, has come as a dampener to the festive season, and raised questions about the policies of the government. For some years now, India has been resorting to huge imports of pulses to meet domestic demand...

-Livemint.com India unlikely to secure credible gains for its millions of poor farmers unless the govt stands firm against the US over its opposition to New Delhi’s demands in agriculture Geneva: India is unlikely to secure credible gains for its millions of poor farmers as part of the proposed outcomes of the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s Nairobi ministerial meeting unless the Narendra Modi government stands firm against the US over its...

-The Hindu Cheap imported bags are sold as Indian to government agencies for a higher procurement price. The Union Textiles Ministry has unearthed a major racket in large-scale import of cheap jute bags from Nepal and Bangladesh by Indian manufacturers, many of whom were supplying these to government agencies after putting their own seals. The Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory Use in Packing Commodities) Act, 1987, mandates that jute bags supplied to government agencies...

-Livemint.com Given condition of land records and problems in identifying actual beneficiaries, the task is gigantic, say analysts New Delhi: The Aadhaar-based direct benefit transfer (DBT) of fertilizer subsidies may not see the light of day anytime soon. “The roll-out of DBT in fertilizer will take some time because there are various hurdles,” said a government official, who is working on DBT. The official, who requested anonymity, said that “this is more challenging”...