-Business Standard There is a widespread panic among Farmers, who were preparing for the next Rabi season New Delhi: There is a widespread panic among Farmers, who had recently harvested their paddy crop, and were preparing for the next Rabi season. They fear that in the absence of new currency notes they will miss out on the crucial sowing time. This is most crucial time for a farmer when he not only...

-Deccan Herald Trading stopped indefinitely in Bagalkot market The scrapping of the notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination by the Central government has severely affected onion traders in the district. Following a request by the traders, the agriculture produce marketing committee has deferred onion trade for an indefinite period. The traders had requested the APMC to stop trading till the currency situation becomes “normal.” However, the move has not gone down well...

-Hindustan Times Nabha: After a tumultuous demand for alternatives to stubble-burning, the departments seem to have come into action. Officials are visiting the Farmers, who gave up stubble-burning and adopted alternative methods on their own, to see the viability of the methods. The agriculture development department highlighted a new instrument made by New Gurdeep Combines, which is fixed at the back of a harvester combine. It trims the stubble into small...

-The Indian Express The poor adoption of a machine that can help avoid paddy stubble burning is an example of policy failure. Jalandhar/ Ludhiana: There is virtual unanimity — at least among scientists and aware Farmers — that the ultimate solution to the recurrent problem of paddy stubble burning at this time of the year lies in the ‘Happy Seeder’ developed by the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in 2002. But more than...

-The Hindu Paddy stubble, unlike wheat residue, isn’t valuable animal feed. Incentivising biomass-based power plants in Punjab and Haryana will help north India breathe easier. Delhi has registered its worst air quality in recent times. This has prompted Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to call it a “gas chamber”. Pollution in different parts of the capital has touched hazardous levels with potentially serious health effects on the rich and poor alike, especially on...