-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Farmers protesting in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra demand better prices for their produce and loan waivers. But low prices and loans are not the real problems. These are mere symptoms of structural problems which cannot be solved by temporary measures such as a loan waiver. "While such turmoil appears to have immediate causes, their sources are rooted in problems that lie deeper," says Prakash Bakshi, a former...

-The Financial Express Pune: Prominent farm activist and current chairman of the special task force constituted by the government of Maharashtra on agrarian crisis, Kishore Tiwari, has urged CM Devendra Fadnavis to cover all the farmers of the 14 distressed districts of Vidarbha and Marathwada in the blanket loan waiver announced on Sunday without any conditions. Welcoming the loan waiver announced by the government, Tiwari said farmers in the distressed districts...

-The Indian Express State govt starts gathering details of outstanding farm loans Chandigarh: Agitating farmers in Haryana have refused to withdraw their agitation despite the acceptance of several demands of farmers in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Haryana farmers, who are sitting on dharna in many parts of the state, have decided to block national highways and state highways for three hours on June 16. On the other hand, keeping in view the...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: If the Narendra Modi government caves in and grants a nationwide farm loan waiver, the tab could surge to a whopping Rs 3 lakh crore, dwarfing the UPA's initiative in 2008 that cost a little over Rs 52,000 crore. "We have warned that the exchequer will go bust if we grant a general amnesty on farm loans, which will cost over Rs 3 lakh crore," a senior finance...

-Hindustan Times In Mandsaur, demonetisation has disrupted every aspect of the rural economy – land markets, credit networks, procurement, and crop prices. Mandsaur (Madhya Pradesh): Traders rued their burnt shops, farmers mourned the death of their sons to police bullets; but as four days of violence drew to a close, both sides could only speak of one thing: demonetisation. “Notebandi destroyed the trust between farmer and trader,” said Sunil Ghatiya, a soybean trader...