-The Tribune The agency-wise share indicates that agricultural credit dispensation in the country is heavily dependent on commercial banks and points towards the poor credit delivery capability of cooperative banks and regional rural banks. THE availability of finance is a key driver of progress in any sector. In the case of agriculture, access to adequate credit assumes vital significance since most of the agriculturists are small or marginal farmers. It has been...

-The Hindu Business Line Enhancing resilient and agroecological strategies is vital for the environment and welfare It is widely accepted that it takes nearly thousand years for formation of top soil, but when not cared for, can be damaged quickly. India adopted intensive agriculture practices in a few pockets, ushering in the Green Revolution. But this had consequences — loss of soil structure and fertility. Research shows that nine major minerals and nutrients...

-Hindustan Times PM Modi had expressed concerns that the utilisation of the funds earmarked for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) was skewed in favour of more affluent states instead of poorer states getting more money, two senior officials said, asking not to be named. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged key discrepancies in the jobs guarantee scheme at a recent review meeting on the rural sector, the central...

-Business Standard The budgetary allocation for MGNREGS has already been exhausted, if pending liabilities for the financial year are included Demand for work under India’s biggest anti-poverty scheme increased to a four-month high in November, government data showed as budgetary support for it is almost exhausted this financial year. More than 22.5 million people applied for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in November, the highest since August....

-IANS/Business Standard Reports also suggested that thousands of children are being born with birth defects The Bhopal Gas Tragedy, the worlds largest and most lethal chemical disaster, occurred on the intervening night of December 2 and 3 in 1984, 38 years ago. Its aftermath continues to wreak havoc in the lives of hundreds of thousands of survivors. According to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation (BGTRR) of the Madhya Pradesh government, which...