-The Hindu Centre mulling alternative crops The Union Government is looking at the possibility of replacing rice crop in Punjab and Haryana with alternative crops such as pulses, fodder and oilseeds that help in nitrogen fixation. The water-intensive rice cultivation over the years has become unsustainable in these two States and the water table has fallen to precarious levels. Giving this information to members of Parliament’s Consultative Committee for his Ministry, Agriculture Minister...
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Farmers prefer to sow rice, sugar cane-Ruchira Singh
-Live Mint Notwithstanding the drought, farmers have preferred to sow sugar cane and rice instead of opting for less water-intensive crops such as coarse grains and pulses. The latest sowing data released by the agriculture ministry as of 16 August shows that area under coarse cereals and pulses is down 13% and 12.39%, respectively, from last year, while that for rice and sugar cane contracted only 3.57% and 4.53%, respectively. In the process,...
More »Waiting for rain-PK Joshi
-The Indian Express As drought pushes up food prices, India must invest in new irrigation methods The speculation on the delay of the monsoons and below-normal rainfall this year is not new to India. But the drought in the maize belt of the United States — that is, in the Midwest — was unexpected. The impact of the drought will be felt on wheat and soya bean production. This will eventually lead...
More »Kudankulam nuclear reactor to be fuelled by mid-August: Officials
-IANS Chennai: The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd is hopeful of soon getting clearance from the sectoral regulator to fuel the first reactor at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP), a senior official said Sunday. "We had two detailed meetings with Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) Friday and Saturday. We hope to get a positive response from AERB in a week's time-by coming Saturday or Sunday," SA Bhardwaj, director (Technical) told IANS...
More »New water usage norms to encourage conservation
-The Economic Times The government plans to intervene in the use of water by industries and encourage conservation of the increasingly scarce resource by setting up a 'bureau of water-use efficiency' to grade various sectors and issue guidelines, official sources said. "We'll start with the industries and analyse whether they are water friendly or not," said a senior official at the ministry of water resources. For this, the ministry has roped in industrial...
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