-Down to Earth In the run up to World Food Day on October 16, a Food and Agriculture Organization report focuses on the role of social protection in breaking the cycle of rural poverty The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) annual report on the State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2015 explores the potential of social protection programmes in developing countries to tackle hunger and poverty. What is social protection? Social protection programmes...

-The Hindu Business Line Crop insurance will make farming a safer vocation The plight of Punjab’s cotton farmers after a swarm of ‘whiteflies’ ravaged their crop is truly disquieting. In a knee-jerk response, Punjab has promised ₹640 crore for over two-third of the crop being destroyed, but on what basis, it is hard to tell. This highlights the absence of crop insurance in Punjab, as pointed out by a recent Crisil study....

-Business Standard At present, the average crop insurance premium on pulses that a farmer has to pay ranges between 10 per cent and 12 per cent of the sum insured New Delhi: To provide a safety net to growers of pulses, which could also help boost production, the Centre's proposed new crop insurance policy has pegged the burden of premium on pulses at a moderate two per cent of the sum insured. Officials...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday came to the Supreme Court along with several important organizations and made an impassioned plea for permitting voluntary use of Aadhaar cards held by 90 crore citizens to accurately identify beneficiaries for welfare schemes. They wanted modification of the SC's August 11 interim order limiting the use of Aadhaar card only for LPG subsidy and ration through public distribution system. A bench...

-The Hindu Business Line New Delhi: The government has painted a grim picture of the crop insurance scenario in the country. Making a presentation before the Finance Standing Committee of Parliament, government representatives said the penetration of crop insurance was just about 23 per cent (369.94 lakh) of the total number of farmers. A little more than 22 per cent of the gross crop area (455.63 lakh hectares) is covered under four...