India's government has banned the export of onions after the vegetable doubled in price in the past week. The rise has been blamed on unusually Heavy Rains in growing areas, as well as on hoarders and speculators. Prices have jumped to 70 rupees ($1.55; £0.99) per kg from 35 rupees last week. The ban is until 15 January and India is importing onions to ease shortages. Onions are a basic ingredient in many...

Distressed over the crop losses in the recent rains, seven more farmers died of shock in the state in the last 24 hours. While three farmers died in Guntur district, West Godavari, Krishna, Prakasam and Nalgonda districts accounted one death each. Thota Apparao died of shock at Rentapadu in Sattenpalle mandal, while Mukteshwar Rao died of cardiac arrest at Attota in Kollipara in Guntur. Hanumantha Rao collapsed in his field on...

Police arrested a top opposition leader in a southern Indian state and forcibly took him to hospital on Monday as his condition deteriorated on the fourth day of an indefinite fast to demand compensation for farmers. Telugu Desam regional party leader Chandrababu Naidu wants the Andhra Pradesh state government to pay a higher rate of compensation to thousands of farmers whose crops have been devastated by recent heavy monsoon rains and...

Shock deaths of farmers continued on Wednesday as two more farmers succumbed to the pressure of lost crops and mounting debts. Nunna Prakasa Rao, who cultivated 10 acres of paddy and lost the entire crop in the unseasonal Heavy Rains, died of heart attack at Kovvili in Denduluru inWest Godavari. Rao was inconsolable ever since the loss and collapsed on Wednesday. He died even before medical aid could reach him....

Suicides of despairing farmers continue in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, despite the claimed implementation of the Rs 3,000-crore Prime Minister’s package and a Rs 1,000-crore package of the state government.Official data released last week show 45 suicides still take place every month. In the past 10 years, a total of 4,427 suicides took place in five districts. After an official loan-waiver scheme was supposed to have taken effect, 919...