-The Financial Express Unseasonal rains and hailstorms in some places over northern states of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh during the last two days is unlikely have any major impact on output of rabi crops such as wheat and mustard, a senior official with the agriculture ministry said on Sunday. “The impact of rains in the last two days on the standing rabi crops is limited and localised,” Trilochan Mohapatra, Director...

-Business Standard Though their intensity has been less so far and the exact impact on the crop is not yet known It is that time of the year when farmers in north and central India worry incessantly of unseasonal rain and hail. As the weather offices had predicted, these have resurfaced in the last few days. Though their intensity has been less so far and the exact impact on the crop is not...

-Livemint.com A growth-first approach may work in the short-term, but India needs to prioritize sustainability simultaneously The Union Budget 2016-17, seeking to “transform India”, has been hailed for its emphasis on agricultural growth and sustainability. Symbolically, the finance minister put “agriculture and farmers’ welfare” first in his nine-point agenda. The words “agriculture” and “farmer” found 20 and 32 mentions, respectively, in the budget speech, the highest in the last decade. On the...

-Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi: The government today said it has launched two important schemes to increase crop yield in rain-fed areas, including India's north eastern states. "To increase crop yields in the rain-fed areas, which account for nearly 55 per cent of the country's arable land, organic farming is being promoted. Towards this end, the government has launched two important schemes which are Parmparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana and Organic Value...

-FirstPost.com Preparation of budgets is traditionally an incremental process: the first railway budget of the present government took off from the landscape sketched in the 12th Five Year Plan. Expansion, modernisation and development of railway infrastructure were to be given thrust through 3Ps: Public-Private Partnerships. Budget 2016-17, however, promises a new horizon on two fronts: overcoming challenges through 3Rs: Reorganising, Restructuring and Rejuvenating Indian railways, and introducing pillars of strategy, including zero-based...