-The Hindu Small farmers are getting only 30-40% of loans meant for the sector, says RBI report New Delhi: The small and marginal farmers are missing out on the bulk of agricultural credit, as per information provided by the Reserve Bank of India, which showed they are receiving only 30-40% of loans meant for the sector. As per a report submitted by the RBI to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture in response...

-Hindustan Times Government’s decision is aimed to cut dependence of small and marginal farmers on usurious informal private lenders. The government has streamlined lending norms in schemes such as the Kisan Credit Card to boost institutional credit flow to small and marginal farmers who make up over 90% of people engaged in agriculture and, as a class, are highly vulnerable to risks. The aim is to cut their dependence on usurious...

-Livemint.com In the last three years, wages of agricultural labourers have increased only by 0.5% per year while those of non-agricultural workers have declined by 0.25% per year, the worst so far in 30 years The agrarian economy continues to be plagued by falling output prices, declining incomes and increased variation in agricultural production pointing to a situation of uncertainty and vulnerability among most rural residents. This has created an unprecedented demand...

-The Telegraph Washington: The Supreme Court of America on Monday agreed to consider reviving a lawsuit by Indian villagers seeking to hold a Washington-based international financial institution responsible for widespread environmental damage they blame on a power plant it financed. The justices will hear an appeal by the villagers of a lower court ruling that the International Finance Corp (IFC) was immune from such lawsuits under federal law. IFC, part of the World...

-The Indian Express The bullet train project, kicked off after discussions between PM Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, is being built with a Rs 88,000-crore soft loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Mumbai: EARLY this month, Raghunath Sutar (32), a Warli tribal from Dahanu taluka in Palghar district, was at the office of the district collector when his neighbours in Sakhare village sent him WhatsApp messages and...