-PTI The Centre will consult state governments early next month to set up a mechanism for protecting farmers' income when market prices fall below the minimum support price (MSP), Agriculture Secretary S K Pattanayak said today. A model law is also being prepared to ensure tenant cultivators get institutional credit and interest subsidy, he added. "We will call a meeting of state governments early next month to discuss a mechanism so that farmers...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Centre has called a two-day national conference on February 19-20 to discuss farm distress and find a permanent solution. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the valedictory round on the second day and review the suggestions emerging from the brainstorming. The conference will be inaugurated by agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh at the Pusa complex. In April, the ministry will call a meeting of...

-TheWire.in The Swaminathan Commission was clear in its recommendations, and the rationale offered by the NITI AAYog to rule out the use of comprehensive cost is dubious at best. Finance minister Arun Jaitley had announced in Budget 2018-19 that his “government has decided to keep MSP [minimum support price] for the all unannounced crops of kharif at least at one and half times of their production cost”. This announcement set off a flurry...

-The Indian Express In the Union Budget 2018-19, an initial corpus of Rs 2,000 crore was provided for the NHPS that aims to provide medical cover of Rs 5 lakh to over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families. New Delhi: TO decide the specifics of the proposed National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS), the Centre has decided to call a meeting of state health secretaries shortly. Details of the scheme’s implementation — touted...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The central government will launch six pilot projects for clean drinking water supply in villages under 'Swajal Project; one each in Uttarakhand, UP, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The project will involve locals in civil work and maintenance of the system. Piloted as a "by the people, for the people, of the people" project, the drinking water and sanitation ministry will pay 90% of...